Individual differences in listening styles: Do you hear what I hear?

To what extent are personality characteristics linked with listening style preferences? To probe this question, a large sample of young adults (males, n = 898; females, n = 733) completed both the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (Eysenck, Eysenck & Barrett, Personality and Individual Differences, 6, 21–29, 1985) and the Listening Styles Profile (Watson, Barker & Weaver, International Journal of Listening, 9, 1–13, 1995). Consistent with expectations, the findings revealed that distinctly different patterns of listening styles were associated with each of three personality dimensions. The psychoticism personality type was linked with a socially callous listening style. The extraversion personality type was associated with a friendly and supportive ‘people’ oriented listening style. The neuroticism personality type, on the other hand, was correlated with listening styles that minimized the time spent interacting with others.