Supportive Listening

Abstract

Listening is a multidimensional construct that consists of complex (a) cognitive processes, such as attending to, understanding, receiving, and interpreting messages; (b) affective processes, such as being motivated and stimulated to attend to another person's messages; and (c) behavioral processes, such as responding with verbal and nonverbal feedback (e.g., backchanneling, paraphrasing). In addition, active listening consists of verbal strategies (e.g., asking clarifying questions), whereas passive listening is nonverbal in nature (e.g., providing backchanneling cues). The purpose of this article is to show that supportive listening is a central dyadic mechanism of providing, perceiving, and receiving beneficial emotional support. Supportive listening differs from other types of listening (e.g., listening during chit-chat or a conflict, informational listening) because it requires that the support listener demonstrate emotional involvement and attunement while attending to, interpreting, and responding to the emotions of the support seeker—a complex and challenging task.

This paper was presented as part of a panel, entitled Theorizing about Listening in Interpersonal Communication, at the 2009 National Communication conference, Chicago, Illinois.