An experimental analogue of the initial interview is used to investigate the effects of interviewer ambiguity-specificity and topical focus, i.e., a low- vs. a high-anxiety arousing topic, on interviewee vocabulary diversity, measured by the type-token ratio. The findings indicate that both interviewer ambiguity and anxiety arousing remarks are associated with high interviewee vocabulary diversity. These results are interpreted in terms of the mediating roles of interviewee uncertainty and drive level. Additionally, interviewees' type-token ratios correlate positively with an index of intelligence and negatively with Eysenck's E-scale.
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