Chapter 7: Active Listening

Question 1

Stages of the Listening Process

Answer 1

• listening, receiving, understanding, interpreting, evaluating, remembering, mnemonics, responding, positive feedback, negative feedback

Question 2

Receiving

Answer 2

• when seeing and hearing are experienced together
• give people undivided attention when they are speaking

Question 3

Seeing

Answer 3

• information translated into visual images

Question 4

Hearing

Answer 4

• sound waves traveling along acoustic nerves in the brian

Question 5

Understanding

Answer 5

• recognizing literally (denotative) meaning of words

Question 6

Interpreting

Answer 6

• identifying implications (connotative meanings) in person’s words

Question 7

Evaluating

Answer 7

• comparing new information against past knowledge

Question 8

What is mentally processed messages influencing by?

Answer 8

• knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and values

Question 9

Remembering (recalling)

Answer 9

• calling messages back into conscious mind

Question 10

Mnemonics

Answer 10

• mental devices that aid memory
• keep it simple
• repeat devivce ofter

Question 11

Responding

Answer 11

• communicating attention and comprehension to speaker
• convey results of listening as feedback

Question 12

Positive Feedback

Answer 12

• look directly at speaker
• smile, position body towards speaker
• lean forward

Question 13

Negative Feedback

Answer 13

• avoid eye contact, turn body away
• look bored, distracted

Question 14

Listening Functions

Answer 14

• different reasons we have for listening
• shape how we choose to listen

Question 15

Five Common Listening Functions

Answer 15

• to comprehend
• to provide support
• to analyze
• to appreciate
• to discern

Question 16

People Who Multitask

Answer 16

• shift attention between many things simultaneously
  -poor listeners
  -more likely to mishear messages
  -more likely to miss messages completely

Question 17

Listening Style

Answer 17

• habitual pattern of listening behaviors
• reflects attitudes, beliefs, predispositions about listening

Question 18

Four Listening Styles

Answer 18

• task-oriented listeners, relational listeners, critical listeners, analytical

Question 19

Task-Oriented Listeners

Answer 19

• see listening as transactional
• prefer brief, to-the-point, and accurate messages
  -focus on task completion

Question 20

Relational Listeners

Answer 20

• listening is opportunity to build and maintain relationships
  -listen to:
  -empathically connect with others
  -understand others’ viewpoints, feelings, and emotions

Question 21

Critical Listeners

Answer 21

• focus attention on accuracy and consistency of what others say
  -critically consider and evaluate others’ messages
  -discern mistakes and catch errors in logic

Question 22

Analytical Listeners

Answer 22

• withhold judgment until all facts and sides considered
  -carefully evaluate information/details before forming opinions

Question 23

Gender and Listening Styles

Answer 23

• all genders can be relational, task, critical, or analytical listeners
• genders are more similar in listening than different

Question 24

Culture and Listening Styles

Answer 24

• culture influences people’s listening styles
• perception of competent listening is relative
• adapt listening style accordingly
• don’t assume listening style based on cultural affiliation

Question 25

Selective Listening

Answer 25

• absorbing some pieces of information, dismissing rest
  -natural result of fluctuating attention
  -to overcome, don’t strive to listen to everything at once

Question 26

Psuedo-Listening

Answer 26

-pretending to pay attention
-prevents us from attending to or understanding information
-somewhat unethical because it’s deceptive

Question 27

Aggressive Listening

Answer 27

• listen only for opportunity to attack conversational partners (ambushing)
  -people who consistently use listening to ambush others
  -typically think less favorably of themselves
  -experience lower marital satisfaction
  -may experience more physical violence in their relationships

Question 28

Managing Feedback

Answer 28

• positive
• obvious
• appropriate
• immediate

Question 29

Adapting Listening

Answer 29

• quickly and flexibly adapt listening styles on:
• situational demands
• purpose of the encounter
• needs and wants of the speakers

Question 30

Recognizing the Value of Silence

Answer 30

• some people want a sympathetic ear or a shoulder to cry on
  -research on grief management has found that allowing griever to vent and providing a sense of presence and attentiveness are helpful behaviors.