Conversational Listening Span: A Prosposed Measure of Conversational Listening

Abstract

There is lack of agreement as to what constitutes listening, and this has spawned over 50 definitions and models for listening (Glenn, 1989;Witkin, 1990), but not one testable theory. Most models and definitions were developed in the early 1970s, when listening researchers grounded their work in the popular attention and memory theorists of the day. These theorists proposed linear attention and memory models with the notion of short-term memory/long-term memory (Driver, 200 1). However, no definition or model is grounded in working memory theory (WM), introduced by Baddeley and Hitch (1974), which is the dominant theoretical paradigm of attention and memory research. WM theory posits a fixed-capacity system accounting for both processing and storage functions.This study ( N = 26) introduces the Conversational Listening Span instrument, the first relational listening instrument grounded in working memory theory. Scores are compared to traditional language-processing span tasks used to measure working memory capacity. Results indicate that the CLS instrument shows promise in future listening research.

The Active-Empathic Listening Scale (AELS): Conceptualization and Evidence of Validity Within the Interpersonal Domain

“…Within the processing stage, AEL is engaged when the listener remembers comments produced by his or her interlocutor, asks for clarification of points when appropriate, and integrates different parts of the speaker's talk into a working whole. It is within this stage that conversational listening capacity (Janusik, 2005(Janusik, , 2007 and the ability to engage in appropriate schematic processing seem important (Fitch-Hauser, 1984, 1990. Finally, AEL during the response stage is characterized by asking questions or paraphrasing, as well as using nonverbal signals such as head nods and backchannel responding that indicate active attention (Wolvin & Coakley, 1996;Yngve, 1970).…”

The Development of a Listening Scale

“…According to Dragan and Sherblom (2008), the very idea of communication, particularly in American and European societies, is often equated with talking rather than listening. In these contexts, effective communication normally relies on the speaker, whereas the role of the listener is often less emphasized (Janusik, 2004). Instead, Chinese culture encourages listening rather than speaking (Fang & Faure, 2010; Gao, 1998).…”

The Revised Listening Concepts Inventory (LCI-R): Assessing Individual and Situational Differences in the Conceptualization of Listening

“…Given the attention paid to listening as an information processing construct (Bodie et al, 2008;Fitch-Hauser, 1984;Fitch-Hauser & Hughes, 1988;Goss, 1982b;Imhof, 2010;Janusik, 2005Janusik, , 2007, it is not surprising that various other concepts have been forwarded to explain how people view listening. This study investigated three of the more popular in the extant literature, namely listening styles, domain-specific listening competency, and active listening.…”