What is the term for a question that seeks a yes-or-no answer and leads the interviewee?

What is the term for a question that seeks a yes-or-no answer and leads the interviewee?

• A. Direct question
• B. Indirect question
• C. Open-ended question
• D. Leading question

Answer: (D)

Leading questions are those that seek a yes-or-no answer and push the interviewee toward a particular response. They include a suggestion or assumption about what the answer should be, which biases the person being asked and makes it more likely they’ll agree with the desired conclusion. In your scenario, the question is designed to elicit a yes or no while guiding the respondent toward a specific outcome. That combination—a yes/no aim plus directional influence—defines a leading question. Direct questions ask plainly for information in a neutral way, indirect questions approach a topic non-assertively, and open-ended questions invite explanations rather than a single yes or no. The presence of both a yes/no target and a biasing cue is what makes this a leading question.

Leading questions are those that seek a yes-or-no answer and push the interviewee toward a particular response. They include a suggestion or assumption about what the answer should be, which biases the person being asked and makes it more likely they’ll agree with the desired conclusion.

In your scenario, the question is designed to elicit a yes or no while guiding the respondent toward a specific outcome. That combination—a yes/no aim plus directional influence—defines a leading question.

Direct questions ask plainly for information in a neutral way, indirect questions approach a topic non-assertively, and open-ended questions invite explanations rather than a single yes or no. The presence of both a yes/no target and a biasing cue is what makes this a leading question.