Listening Styles: Sex Differences in Perceptions of Self and others

Historically, more time has been spent on teaching speaking than listening, even though listening is the communication activity in which we spend most of our time. Difficulties in teaching include the lack of a single definition or model of listening. Additionally, since listening is both cognitive and behavioral, effectiveness is often evaluated by what students know as opposed to what students do. This article provides a comprehensive look at what is known about teaching listening in both the college and corporate classrooms. Finally, it proposes the educational concept of Teacher Research to develop further theories on how to teach listening more effectively.     

Listening to Intense Messages: The Role of Arousal and Affect in Message Content Recognition

This study examines the interference effect of high-arousal, affective messages on the recognition of message content from less arousing messages. Subjects were 108 undergraduate students who viewed two political commercials in one of three conditions: Target (low intensity) followed by high-arousal message, target followed by low-arousal message, and target preceded by high-arousal message. The messages used were the political commercials of Michael Bailey concerning family values and abortion.

Results indicated that arousal effects recognition of message content. It appears, however, that high-arousal messages facilitate the recognition of content from a low-arousal message presented either before or after the stimulus.

These results are discussed in terms of current conceptualizations of affect-inducing messages and listening. Areas of further research are also suggested.     

Better Listening: Paraphrasing and Perception Checking–A Study of the Effectiveness of a Multimedia Skills Training Program

SUMMARY

The authors describe a multimedia communications skills training CD-ROM for human service students and practitioners and evaluate its effectiveness with undergraduate social work students in Canada.     

The Influence of Nasality of Voice on Sex-Stereotyped Perceptions

Men's and women's voices differ acoustically, and sex-stereotyped attributions are formed based on gender of voice. Recently it has been reported that men's voices are less nasal than women's voices, and that nasality of voice is inversely related to perceptions of persuasiveness. The present study was designed to determine whether nasality of voice affected sex-stereotyped perceptions. Audio tapes were created which contained the voices of 3 men and 3 women each speaking the same sentence at counterbalanced and comparable low, medium, and high levels of nasality as measured by nasalance scores. The voices were rated on 16 randomly presented adjectives by 30 male and 30 female listeners. The adjectives represented positive and negative female and male stereotypes. Ratings did not differ based on gender of listener. Nasality of voice contributed solely and interactively to sex-stereotyped perceptions.     

Peer Influence on Prosocial Behavior in Adolescence

Adolescence is a time of increased sensitivity to peer influence, which creates vulnerabilities but also opportunities. In this study, we examined the influence of peers on prosocial behavior in 12‐ to 16‐year‐old adolescents (N = 197). We utilized a public goods game in which participants made decisions about the allocation of coins between themselves and the group. Participants received manipulated peer feedback on a subset of decisions. Results indicate a significant interaction between feedback condition (prosocial, antisocial, or no feedback) and allocation choices: Prosocial behavior increased after prosocial feedback and decreased after antisocial feedback. These findings support the idea that peer influence creates not only vulnerabilities, but also opportunities for healthy prosocial development and social adjustment learning.     

The Effect of Active and Passive Peer Discouragement on Adolescent Risk taking: An Experimental Study

This experiment investigated the effect of peer discouragement on adolescent risk taking. Overall, 269 Dutch adolescents aged 11–15 years completed a risk taking computer task in the presence of an e‐confederate who demonstrated very little risk taking (passive peer discouragement) and/or sent risk‐discouraging messages to participants (active peer discouragement). The results showed that, compared to a situation with no peer discouragement, adolescents took significantly less risk only when they encountered a combination of active and passive peer discouragement; hence, when peers practiced what they preached. No gender differences were found in the effect of passive and active peer discouragement on risk taking. The results showed that digital peer messages play a promising role in diminishing adolescent risk taking.     

高校中同伴影响力的性别差异

对高校中同伴影响力的现状进行调查的结果显示出复合性。使用来自中国大学的数据,我们没有发现证据证明同伴之间有较强的影响力。使用同样的数据我们发现女性会受同伴的影响,而男性不会,这一研究结果与社会心理学中女性更容易受同伴的影响的理论是一致的。     

The Influence of Perceived Supervisor Listening Behavior on Employee Commitment

This study seeks to examine the influence of perceived supervisor listening on employee commitment in an organization. Research suggests that in today's organizations managers spend the largest percentage of their time listening, followed by speaking, reading, and writing. Although training addresses speaking and public presentations, interpreting technical reports, and instruction in technical writing, little has been done to either research or train listening skills.

Listening research has primarily focused on listening measurements and assessment (see Rhodes, Watson & Barker, 1990), and identification of specific behaviors associated with listening (see Lobdell & Gluc, 1990). Few studies have examined listening in the organizational setting (see Husband, Cooper, & Monsour, 1988; Husband, Schenck, & Cooper, 1988). A study by Husband, Cooper, and Monsour (1988), explored the initial question of supervisor's perceptions of their own listening behaviors in organizations. Further research by Husband, Schenck, and Cooper (1988) suggests that the subordinate's perception of supervisory listening may be different than the supervisor's actual listening behavior or the supervisor's perception of their own listening behavior. They found that subordinates did not feel at ease when communicating with their supervisors, and that the subordinates perceived that their supervisors were unwilling to listen to them.

As Husband, et al. (1988) suggests, there could be many starting points at which to address organizational listening. Based on some of the findings in their research, supervisor-subordinate listening seems to offer a logical beginning. The supervisor-subordinate relationship represents an essential link in the organizational structure (see Jablin, 1979). Given their argument, if subordinates differ in their perceptions of supervisory listening behavior, and perceive their supervisor's listening negatively, there may be a direct influence on their commitment to their jobs or the organization as a whole. This study attempts to determine the influence of perceived supervisor listening on employee commitment to the organization.

The respondents were 225 occupational employees and 53 managerial employees in a large southwestern utility company. The survey was a 69 item organizational listening questionnaire developed by Arnold (1989). The questionnaire was broken down into four dimensions: (1) feelings about the organization, (2) perception of relationship with supervisor, (3) perception of own communication behavior, and (4) organizational listening behaviors.     

The Influence of Perceptions of Fairness on Performance Appraisal Reactions

The success of appraisal systems may well depend on ratees’ perceptions of fairness and reactions to important aspects of the appraisal process. My primary purpose is to integrate the literatures on fairness perceptions and appraisal reactions to test specific, heretofore untested, hypotheses. Consistent with predictions of Sweeney and McFarlin’s (Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 55:23–40, 1993) two-factor model, results of structural equation modeling indicated that distributive justice influenced satisfaction with performance ratings and procedural justice influenced satisfaction with the appraisal system. Results indicated mixed support for Bies and Moag’s (Lewicki, Blair, Bazerman (eds) Research on Negotiation in Organization, JAI Press, Greenwich, CT, pp. 43–55, 1986) agent-system model as procedural justice (and distributive justice) had more influence on satisfaction with appraisal feedback than components of interactional justice perceptions. The implications of my results are discussed and suggestions for future research are offered.     

同龄人对青少年酗酒的影响

青少年在青春期一旦沾染上酗酒就预示着其学业成绩下滑,情感困惑加剧。然而,这些关系会因同龄人对酒的依赖程度的不同而发生变化。本文就青少年人际关系不协调会增加酗酒的机率,或削弱抵抗酗酒诱惑的防卫本能;同龄人行为对个人酗酒会产生巨大影响、个人所处的大范围对其情感困惑的影响作出相应的判断,对同龄人在青春期问题行为中究竟扮演什么角色提供了一些新的思路。     

Towards Achievement of Reading Skill Potential Through Peer Tutoring in Mainstreamed 13-year-olds

A long-term study of potentially disabled children identified at birth, yielded 27 disabled children who had not achieved the reading ages predicted by their verbal IQ scores. Peer-tutoring outside of the classroom resulted in significant increases in reading age, self-esteem and academic self-confidence, in comparison with non-disabled control children. Children with higher IQs were more reading delayed, suggesting that teachers of mainstreamed children may be satisfied with 'average' rather than 'optimal' scholastic attainment in disabled children.     

The Influence of Gender Composition in Powerful Positions on Public Relations Practitioners' Gender-Related Perceptions

Against the background of the high feminization of the German agency sector, this article investigates 2 specific factors that help explain women's careers in public relations agencies: gender stereotypes and the organizational context. We present parts of a recent German explorative study: Long interviews were conducted with 13 female public relations experts to explain their view on women's situation in public relations in general and to describe their own careers. Findings reveal the evolution of a “PR bunny” stereotype that adds a negative touch to the female image as “natural born communicators.” Furthermore, our results support the argument that women seem to prefer (a) the organizational culture of public relations agencies, (b) agency-specific job tasks, and (c) agency-specific work processes. Possible consequences for practitioners and the profession are discussed.     

The Influence of Ethnicity on Listening,Communication Competence,Approach, and Avoidance

The purpose of study reported in this article was to examine differences in communication and listening predispositions and communication competence across ethnicity, as well as contribute to the discussion of the growing cultural diversity in the educational and work contexts of the United States. Subjects were 275 undergraduates enrolled in a basic “Introduction to Communication Studies” course. Results were that Whites are perceived as more “approaching” and communicatively competent and African Americans are perceived as less expressive and communicatively competent. Hispanics and Asian Americans rank somewhere in between Whites and African Americans. However, what must be kept in mind is what one perceives as characteristics of a “good listener” or a “good communicator” is often determined by subtle, yet powerful influences and rules characteristic of one's own ethnic background.     

In the Context of Adult Support: The Influence of Peer Support on the Psychological Well-Being of Middle-School Students

This study examines the influence of adult and peer support on the psychological well-being of middle-school students. Using data representing 13,843 middle-school students from seven U.S. states, which were collected with the School Success Profile, hierarchical regression analysis is used to examine a hypothesis in 2 models of relationships: continuity/cognitive and compensatory/competition. Results support the continuity/cognitive model, and indicate peer support is an important contributor to middle-school students’ psychological well-being at various levels of adult support. When adult support is low, high levels of peer support do not improve psychological well-being. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

The Effect of Corrective Interviews with Alcohol Dependent Employees:

No abstract available for this article.