Item – Theses Canada

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OCLC number
67399595
Link(s) to full text
LAC copy
LAC copy
Author
Doell, Faye K.,1972-
Title
Partners' listening styles and relationship satisfaction : listening to understand vs. listening to respond.
Degree
M.A. -- York University, 2003
Publisher
Ottawa : Library and Archives Canada = Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, [2005]
Description
2 microfiches.
Notes
Includes bibliographical references.
Abstract
This study tests a model of listening patterns, observable in marital communication, which consists of two distinct listening modes: "' listening to respond'" (LTR) and "'listening to understand'" (LTU). Using a sample of 236 undergraduate students, the current study provided evidence for the two-factor structure, homogeneity and test-retest reliability, and validity of both the LTR and LTU subscales of the new Listening Styles in Committed Relationships (LSCR) Scale. The hypotheses that listening to understand augments relationship satisfaction, and that listening to respond is associated with lower satisfaction, were supported. More specifically, it was found that higher ratings of relationship satisfaction were correlated with higher self-ratings of listening to understand, and also with higher ratings of the extent to which one's partner was perceived of as listening to understand. Conversely, higher self-ratings of listening to respond, and also higher ratings of the extent to which one's partner was perceived of as listening to respond, were associated with lower ratings of relationship satisfaction. Exploratory analyses also suggested that discrepancies between how one characterizes oneself and how they perceive their partner, in terms of these listening styles, may carry important implications for their experience of satisfaction within their relationship. The theoretical and clinical implications of these findings concerning the influence of what and how one "hears", on individuals' experience of relationship satisfaction, is discussed.
ISBN
0612992993
9780612992993