The social construction of the listener: Listening behavior across situations, perceived listener status, and cultures

Abstract

The differences in the assessment of good and poor listening behavior varies across different situations, perceived levels of listener status, and cultures are investigated using a paper‐pencil questionnaire and different scenarios to collect data. A total of 134 students were sampled in the US and in Germany. Results show that participants' accounts for good and poor listening behavior is subject to significant inter‐ and intra‐cultural variation due to relevant situational factors which determine the character of a listening episode.