Listening Competency on Campus: A Psychometric Analysis of Student Listening

Abstract

Primarily used in corporate and organizational contexts, this study evaluates the psychometric properties of the 30-item Organizational Listening Survey (OLS) as a measure of listening behavior with a sample of undergraduate college students. The first study analyzed 1,475 students' self-reports of their listening behavior on campus, indicating a single-factor model of listening with strong internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = .96), incorporating aspects of affirming the relational partner as well as confirming the message communicated. The second study involved students' other-reports of their professors' listening behaviors. It demonstrated high interrater agreement using the OLS to evaluate a common professor.

Notes

¹In earlier publications, this instrument is called the Managerial Listening Survey. “Managerial” became a misnomer in later research because the instrument was equally involved in assessing the listening competencies of any and all organizational members. In the study reported in this paper, respondents were drawn from all levels of the organization. In future studies, copies of this instrument have been called the Organizational Listening Survey to reflect this diversity.