Building Trust and Feeling Well: Examining Intraindividual and Interpersonal Outcomes and Underlying Mechanisms of Listening

Abstract

AbstractWe investigated perceived listening quality in relation to individual (self-clarity and emotional well-being) and dyadic variables (social attraction and trust). Specifically, we proposed that the link between perceived listening quality and emotional well-being is mediated by self-clarity, and that the link between perceived listening and trust is mediated by social attraction. We obtained data in a controlled setting from a sample of 50 unacquainted student dyads, in which the narrator told a personal story while the partner listened silently. The data showed a good fit to the model. Our work expands the understanding of listening by illuminating the role of mediating processes and by demonstrating correlates of perceived listening quality in the context of unacquainted dyads. Notes1 Role clarity encompasses all information regarding the expectations associated with one's role at work (Ivancevich & Donnelly, Citation1974).2 We refrained from considering the commonly reported RMSEA due to the low complexity of the model and low number of degrees of freedom (df). For small df and low N models, especially for the former, there is greater sampling error, which can result in artificially large values of the RMSEA (Kenny & McCoach, Citation2003).3 Similarity between items' content that go beyond the conceptual content of the latent factor often lead to shared variance in residual terms. Adding those to the measurement model is a common and adequate practice when the covariations are theoretically justified as in our case (see, e.g., Byrne, Citation2012; Kline, Citation2012).4 Since all variables were closely related we conducted additional indirect effects analyses to test the possibility of other mediators (e.g., positive affect as mediator for self-clarity). No significant indirect effects were found.5 We built the holistic listening model on deductive considerations. However, we tested various alternative models that seemed reasonable (e.g., trust as a mediator of positive affect). None of the models revealed acceptable fit indices.6 Indirect effect = .02, CI = −.28/.34.