Addressing current issues in assessing professional rapport: A systematic review and synthesis of existing measures

Abstract

The role of rapport facilitating cooperation and information disclosure has been widely acknowledged by both researchers and practitioners across professional information-gathering contexts. However, the definition and assessment of rapport are still debated, resulting in a lack of reliable and commonly used tools to effectively measure rapport. This review explored how rapport has been measured in professional information-gathering contexts and illustrates key characteristics of published measures in a searchable systematic map. A total of 111 research articles and 126 measures of rapport were evaluated based on standards in scale development and validation. The measures' conceptualisation of rapport was also examined with their individual items being coded for the following theorised components of rapport: (i) paying attention, (ii) personalising the interview/interaction, (iii) being approachable and (iv) establishing a mutual connection. Findings are synthesised and discussed in relation to the overarching patterns found, including limited consistency and validity in current measures of rapport.