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

We 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.