More extraverted individuals are generally perceived as poorer listeners, study finds

A new set of six studies found that people consistently perceive more extraverted individuals to be worse listeners compared to less extraverted ones. The studies also suggested that people believe extraverts are better at adjusting their behavior or “acting” to fit social situations. The research was published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

Extraversion is a personality trait that predisposes individuals to outgoing, social and energetic behavior. Individuals high in extraversion tend to be sociable, assertive, and to enjoy interacting with others. They engage actively in social situations. Extraverted individuals are often more willing to take risks and explore new experiences compared to those with lower levels of extraversion.

For extraverted people, being engaged in social interactions leads to positive emotions. On the other hand, being deprived of social interactions can quickly elicit feelings of isolation and loneliness in these individuals.

One of the important components of successful interactions with other people is being able to listen to them. This means attending to and absorbing what they have to say. Paying attention to the person speaking can have significant positive effects on that person. Interaction with high quality listeners can make a person feel more relaxed and at ease. But are extraverts good listeners?

Study author Francis J. Flynn and his colleagues wanted to test whether extraverts are seen as good listeners. They reasoned that people might see extraverts as more interested in talking than listening. The researchers proposed that, despite the high sociability, extraversion might not signal a sincere level of attentiveness. Instead, it is possible that extraverts’ high enthusiasm in social interaction might be a reflection of their ability to present a socially desirable image rather than a true desire to be social. They conducted a series of six studies.

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The studies involved a total of 2456 participants. In the first study, MBA students working together in small groups rated their own extraversion and assessed how good listeners their group members were. In the second study, 718 adults from the U.S. were asked to evaluate the perceived extraversion and listening abilities of familiar strangers.

Studies 3a and 3b presented participants with descriptions of individuals with different levels of extraversion. They were then asked to imagine meeting these individuals through a friend-finding app (study 3a) or to write a story about the described person (study 3b) and evaluate their listening skills.

In study 4, participants were shown answers to an extraversion assessment allegedly given by a person named “Jamie,” with different levels of extraversion presented to different participants. Participants imagined having a conversation with Jamie and rated his listening skills. They also evaluated Jamie’s ability to modify his self-presentation.

Study 5 examined whether the link between perceived extraversion and listening ability is related to self-monitoring, which is the ability to modify one’s behavior to fit social contexts.

The results showed that more extraverted individuals were perceived as worse listeners by their group members (study 1). Familiar strangers who were seen as more extraverted were also perceived as worse listeners, though those perceived as warm and emotionally positive were rated as better listeners (study 2). This happened in spite of the fact that warmth and positive emotions are both aspects of extraversion.

In both studies 3a and 3b, individuals described as extraverted were considered worse listeners than those described as introverted. Study 4 also found that more extraverted individuals were seen as worse listeners, and participants perceived them as better at modifying their self-presentation. Study 5’s statistical analysis suggested that the link between extraversion and listening ability might be related to the perception that extraverts are better at modifying their behavior.

“Extraversion is strongly associated with sociability. However, we find that people do not interpret this sociability as reciprocal. Rather, they see it as unidirectional—believing that extraverts are more concerned with sending information than receiving information in their social interactions. At the heart of this lay belief that extraverts are poor listeners appears another lay belief: extraverts are good actors, presenting high levels of energy and enthusiasm that hide the fact they are not actually listening,” the study authors concluded.

The study makes an important contribution to the scientific understanding of lay beliefs about extraverts. However, the study only examined beliefs about extraverts and did not test whether these beliefs are valid.

The paper, “Are You Listening to Me? The Negative Link Between Extraversion and Perceived Listening”, was authored by Francis J. Flynn, Hanne Collins, and Julian Zlatev.