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  • Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

Are You Listening to Me? The Negative Link between Extraversion and Perceived Listening

By: Francis J Flynn, Hanne Collins and Julian Zlatev
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Abstract

Extraverts are often characterized as highly social individuals who are highly invested in their interpersonal interactions. We propose that extraverts' interaction partners hold a different view-that extraverts are highly social, but not highly invested. Across six studies (five preregistered; N = 2,456), we find that interaction partners consistently judge more extraverted individuals to be worse listeners than less extraverted individuals. Furthermore, interaction partners assume that extraversion is positively associated with a greater ability to modify one's self-presentation. This behavioral malleability (i.e., the "acting" component of self-monitoring) may account for the unfavorable lay belief that extraverts are not listening.

Keywords

Extraversion; Listening; Self-monitoring; Sociability; Interaction; Interpersonal Communication; Perception

Citation

Flynn, Francis J., Hanne Collins, and Julian Zlatev. "Are You Listening to Me? The Negative Link between Extraversion and Perceived Listening." Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (forthcoming). (Pre-published online March 18, 2022.)
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About The Author

Julian J. Zlatev

Negotiation, Organizations & Markets
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  • Río Curicó Teaching Note: Video Short I By: Kathleen L. McGinn and Julian Zlatev
  • SIMmersion: Simulating Crucial Conversations By: Alison Wood Brooks and Julian Zlatev
  • Sending Signals: Strategic Displays of Warmth and Competence By: Bushra S. Guenoun and Julian J. Zlatev
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