How to foster perceived partner responsiveness: High-quality listening is key
Abstract
Social psychologists have a longstanding interest in the mechanisms responsible for the beneficial effects of positive social connections. This article reviews and integrates two emerging but to this point disparate lines of work that focus on these mechanisms: high-quality listening and perceived partner responsiveness. We also review research investigating the downstream consequences of high-quality listening and perceived partner responsiveness: the how and why of understanding the process by which these downstream benefits are obtained. High-quality listening and perceived partner responsiveness, though not isomorphic, are related constructs in that they both incorporate several key interpersonal processes, such as understanding, positive regard, and expressions of caring for another person. We develop a theoretical model for representing how listening embodies one form of interactive behavior that can promote (or hinder) perceived partner responsiveness and its downstream affective, cognitive, and behavioral effects. Finally, we discuss our model’s implications for various social-psychological domains, such as social cognition, self-evaluation, constructive disagreements, and interpersonal relationships.
Understanding and Cultivating Effective Listening: A Dialectical Theory of the Tensions between Intuition and Intentional Behavior
Tia Moin, Guy Itzchakov, Netta Weinstein
Listening
High-quality listening is a multifaceted social behaviour, and theories and research concerning it are mixed in terms of listening definitions and recommendations. The current study canvassed lay practitioners’ understanding of optimal listening qualities and training, drawing on a wide range of listening training materials (N = 207) sourced from the World-Wide-Web. Thematic analysis results were critically examined to systematically position praxis against our current understanding of listening theories. Findings are presented as a “dialectical listening theory” which posits that at its core, listeners’ behaviours often exist in direct tension with their mindset or intuition. Furthermore, we posit that this tension is amplified when individuals are faced with conversations that conflict with their perspectives or values. Finally, we argue that listeners may need to oscillate between dual-process states of unconscious (intuitive) and conscious (intentional) listening. We conclude that high-quality listening involves direct recognition and strategic management of tensions throughout the listening process.
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Executive function deficits mediate the relationship between employees’ ADHD and job burnout
Yaara Turjeman-Levi, Guy Itzchakov and Batya Engel-Yeger
Organizational Behavior and Social Psychology
Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) often face significant
deficits in executive function and adverse work-related outcomes. This study aimed to explore the
role of executive function deficits in job burnout of employees with ADHD. We hypothesized that
employees with ADHD, relative to employees without ADHD, will experience higher levels of job
burnout and deficits in executive function. We also hypothesized that the ADHD-job burnout
relationship would be mediated through executive function deficits, specifically by selfmanagement to time and self-organization/problem-solving. A field study with 171 employees
provided support for the research hypotheses and mediation model in which the employees’
ADHD-job burnout relationship was mediated through executive function deficits. Additional
mediation analyses indicated that the specific executive function of self-management to time and
self-organization/problem-solving mediated the effect of ADHD on job burnout and its facets.
Specifically, for physical fatigue, the mediation was realized through self-management to time,
and for emotional exhaustion and cognitive weariness, the mediation was significant through selforganization/problem-solving. The present findings shed light on the relevance of referring ADHD
among employees, their vulnerability to job burnout, and the role of executive function deficits in
job burnout of employees with ADHD.
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