Close Menu
    What's Hot
    – 20230173bccc501cd5ca1cb6d4e1a55309c444

    Child mental health forum to be held in Norristown

    May 13, 2024
    – 202309651575b3861327.14722519

    GameStop's stock prices surged when Roaring Kitty made a comeback on social media

    May 13, 2024
    – 202303van Jones 2023

    Van Jones criticized possible Trump VP candidates for avoiding 2024 election questions, saying it's like failing kindergarten

    May 13, 2024
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Telegram
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    The Plaza JournalThe Plaza Journal
    Subscribe
    Monday, June 23
    • Sports
      • American Football
      • Basketball
      • Baseball
      • Boxing
      • Cricket
      • Football
      • Hockey
      • Tennis
    • Politics
      – 2023102

      John Dean believes the hush money case against Trump is very strong

      May 13, 2024
      – 202405my screenshots 2024 05 13 at 85135am e1715608366191

      “Cruel and unfeeling” Trump assistant boasts about causing innocent homeless people to be arrested

      May 13, 2024
      – 202305stopthestealrally 01062021 getty

      Only 5 percent of people mention January 6th as the most important memory from Trump's presidency: Survey

      May 13, 2024
      – 202405AP24082659643362 e1714510107248

      7 in 10 say they’ve given a lot of thought to election: Gallup

      May 13, 2024
      – 202405AP24133009758539

      Trump: ‘Hannibal Lecter is a wonderful man’

      May 13, 2024
    • Technology
    • United States
    • United Kingdom
    • Business
    • Entertainment
    • Science
      1. Archaeology
      2. Anthropology
      3. Space
      4. Biology
      5. Ecology
      6. Geology
      7. Nanotechnology
      8. Neurology
      9. Paleontology
      10. Psychology
      11. Mathematics
      12. Geography
      13. Astrophysics
      14. Oceanography
      15. Physics
      Featured
      – 20240513unesco hunting cave

      How perspiration and endurance helped humans become excellent runners and hunters

      Biology May 13, 20244 Mins Read
      Recent
      – 20240513unesco hunting cave

      How perspiration and endurance helped humans become excellent runners and hunters

      May 13, 2024
      – 202405112024 aurora photos

      Amazing photos of colorful skies around the world as auroras shine in bright colors

      May 11, 2024
      – 20240510mosquitoes scotland

      Scotland has suddenly seen a large increase in mosquitoes

      May 10, 2024
    • Health
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    The Plaza JournalThe Plaza Journal
    Home»News

    'You’re not paying attention!' When someone has a different opinion, we tend to think they’re not listening — even if they are

    By Tyrone JonesApril 23, 2024 News 4 Mins Read
    – 202404Vector art illustration of two people having a conversation
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email
    illustration of two people having an argument
    Credit: AI-generated illustration/DALL-E 3.

    Discussions about intense topics can easily turn into a disagreement. If you add emotions and poor communication, the situation can easily become even more unproductive. In these situations, people often tell the other person that 'they're not listening'. That may very well be true. But psychologists at the University of Pennsylvania want to point out something: just because someone disagrees with us doesn't mean they're not listening.

    “It is important for people to feel listened to in professional and personal communications, and yet they can feel unheard even when others have listened well. We propose that this feeling may arise because speakers conflate agreement with listening quality,” wrote the researchers.

    Agree to disagree

    In their recent study, the researchers examined the interactions of 3,396 adults in 11 conversation-focused experiments focused on various topics and mediums, such as face-to-face, text, and video. Some of the topics were quite controversial, such as free speech, police reform, and vaccine mandates. To isolate 'agreement' as the only variable, the researchers kept the listener's objective constant or manipulated it. For example, in some cases, the listener had to indicate whether they agreed with the speaker only after the conversation ended.

    The researchers noticed that speakers often see listeners as more attentive if they agree with the speakers’ opinions, regardless of the actual quality of listening displayed.

    For example, in one experiment where a hiring decision was simulated, speakers felt more understood and believed their listeners were more engaged when there was agreement with their hiring recommendations. A simple nod may be taken as good listening, even if the other person’s mind is on a completely different topic. On the other hand, speakers tended to assume that those who disagreed weren’t listening well.

    “This effect seemed to emerge because speakers believe their views are correct, leading them to infer that a disagreeing listener must not have been listening very well. Indeed, it may be prohibitively difficult for someone to simultaneously convey that they disagree and that they were listening,” the researchers wrote.

    The study also investigated whether improving listening habits could help in situations where the listener disagrees with the speaker. Despite efforts to improve listening quality by showing attentiveness, comprehension, and respect, these high-quality listening markers often made speakers feel as though the listener agreed more with their stance than they actually did.

    In other words, demonstrating more involvement through active listening techniques does indeed improve the speaker’s perception that their views are being listened to, but this also distorts the speaker’s interpretation of the listener’s degree of agreement with their arguments. This further emphasizes this psychological effect. Speakers confuse conversation agreement with listening quality.

    The psychology of listening perceptions

    This phenomenon is related to the concept of naive realism, where individuals believe their own views are the objective truth. So, if someone disagrees, they assume the other party wasn't paying attention or didn't understand.

    This intuitive assumption suggests that our perceptions directly reflect reality, accurately capturing objects and events as they exist. However, research in psychology and neuroscience shows that our perceptions are actually interpretations formed by our brains from limited sensory data.

    People's interpretations are influenced by their past experiences, expectations, and cultural backgrounds. This means that the same situation can be seen differently by different people. Naive realism oversimplifies the complex relationship between perception and reality, which often leads to misunderstandings in everyday life and communication.

    However, psychology and neuroscience also tell us that we can overcome our cognitive biases once we realize them. For example, we might realize that a conversation is frustrating not because the other person is not actively listening, but simply because they have a different, maybe opposite, view. We can then adjust our communication style. Maybe this could help avoid unnecessary arguments in the future.

    The research was published in the journal Psychological Science.

    Conversation Perception Psychology Reality
    Tyrone Jones

    Keep Reading

    – 20230173bccc501cd5ca1cb6d4e1a55309c444

    Child mental health forum to be held in Norristown

    – 2024058 1

    Deciphering Thaksin’s invite to Myanmar’s ethnic groups

    – 202307AP081203023809 e1690573674664

    Record travel anticipated this Memorial Day weekend

    – 202405rafah gaza 051024 AP

    Israel advances further into Rafah

    Add A Comment
    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    Must Read
    Latest Posts
    – 20230173bccc501cd5ca1cb6d4e1a55309c444

    Child mental health forum to be held in Norristown

    May 13, 2024
    – 202309651575b3861327.14722519

    GameStop's stock prices surged when Roaring Kitty made a comeback on social media

    May 13, 2024
    – 202303van Jones 2023

    Van Jones criticized possible Trump VP candidates for avoiding 2024 election questions, saying it's like failing kindergarten

    May 13, 2024
    – 20240513Depositphotos 241148346 L

    Chicken fat supercapacitors may be able to store future green energy

    May 13, 2024
    – 202405antisemitism

    Most students at prestigious universities believe that there is an issue with antisemitism, as per a survey conducted by U.S. News & World Report

    May 13, 2024
    The Plaza Journal White Logo
    X-twitter Facebook Google Pinterest Telegram

    News

    • World
    • US Politics
    • EU Politics
    • Business
    • Opinions
    • Connections
    • Science

    Company

    • Information
    • Advertising
    • Classified Ads
    • Contact Info
    • Do Not Sell Data
    • GDPR Policy
    • Media Kits

    The Plaza Journal

    • Contact Us
    • Subscription
    • Submit an Anonymous Tip
    • Newsletters
    • Sponsored News
    • Advertise With Us
    • Privacy Notice

    Keep updated

    Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

    Copyright © 2025 The Plaza Journal. All rights reserved.
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Cookie Policy
    • Accessibility

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.