Deep Listening Training to Bridge Divides: Fostering Attitudinal Change through Intimacy and Self‐Insight
Abstract
Deep, high‐quality listening that offers a nonjudgmental approach, understanding, and careful attention when speakers share disparate views can have the power to bridge divides and change speakers' attitudes. However, can people be trained to provide such listening while disagreeing with what they hear, and if so, are the effects of the listening training sufficient for creating perceptible change during disagreements? This study, conducted with delegates (N=320) representing 86 countries experimentally tested a “deep” (otherwise termed “high quality“) listening training against a randomly assigned subgroup of attendees who served as a “waitlist” control. During a conversation with another participant on a subject about which they strongly disagreed, participants who had completed a 6‐h training over 3 weeks in high‐quality listening demonstrated improvements in their observed listening behaviors, reported higher levels of interactional intimacy with conversation partners, appeared to increase their self‐insight and subsequently, showed evidence of attitude change. Among the first studies to test semi‐causal outcomes of high‐quality listening training between attendees with diverse and contrary attitudes in a real‐world, cross‐national setting; we discuss the potential and limitations for listening training to support positive relations and an open mind in the context of discourse, disagreement and polarization.
Social-based learning and leadership in school: conflict management training for holistic, relational conflict resolution
Eli Vinokur, Avinoam Yomtovian, Marva Shalev Marom, Guy Itzchakov and Liat Baron
Listening
Navigating conflicts is crucial for promoting positive relationships between
pupils, teachers, and parents. The objective of this paper is to present Social-
Based Learning and Leadership (SBL), an innovative approach to group dynamics
and conflict resolution within the school setting, aiming to foster meaningful
relationships and personal and social growth. The methods of SBL focus on
group evolution by navigating conflicts rooted in higher needs while balancing
the interplay of separation and connection. It proactively embeds prosocial
values and conduct into the school culture, with teachers prioritizing the
wellbeing of others, fostering shared problem-solving, and positive feedback
amid conflicts. Teachers acquire tools to transform the classroom into a “social
laboratory” and constructmeaningful partnerships with parents. Practical conflict
management within the SBL framework involves dynamic group discussions,
shifting fromother blaming to accountability, and reflective group introspection.
Experiential learning through crafted case studies and role-plays enhances
students’ conflict management skills by fostering perspective-taking and
inclusiveness.We conducted a qualitative case study in an SBL training in a school
from 2020 to 2023. These conflict management processes allow the school
community to reimagine conflict as an invaluable educational opportunity,
equipping pupils with essential soft skills for navigating the challenges of the
21st century.
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I Am Aware of My Inconsistencies but Can Tolerate Them: The Effect of High Quality Listening on Speakers’ Attitude Ambivalence
Guy Itzchakov, Avraham N. Kluger, and Dotan R. Castro
Listening
We examined how listeners characterized by empathy and a non-judgmental approach affect speakers’ attitude structure. We hypothesized that high-quality listening decreases speakers’ social anxiety, which in turn reduces defensive processing. This reduction in defensive processing was hypothesized to result in an awareness of contradictions (increased objective-attitude ambivalence) and decreased attitude extremity. Moreover, we hypothesized that experiencing high-quality listening would enable speakers to tolerate contradictory responses, such that listening would attenuate the association between objective and subjective-attitude ambivalence. We obtained consistent support for our hypotheses across four laboratory experiments that manipulated listening experience in different ways on a range of attitude topics. The effects of listening on objective-attitude ambivalence were stronger for higher dispositional social anxiety and initial objective-attitude ambivalence (Study 4). Overall, the results suggest that speakers’ attitude structure can be changed by a heretofore unexplored interpersonal variable: merely providing high-quality listening.
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