Reflective Listening and Cognitive Skill Development

I believe that cognitive skills play a part in being able to listen reflectively. According to “Life-Span Communication” by Loretta L. Pecchioni, “Cognition is generally recognized as the study of how people acquire knowledge (Haslett & Samter, 1997). If the knowledge that is being acquired concerns the interface of human thought process and human interaction, then researchers have classified these specific cognitive processes into the domain of social cognition” (Knapp & Miller, 1994). Therefore, reflective listening is a type of cognitive skill because it has to do with human interaction as well as interface with the human thought process.

While having a conversation, it is crucial to pay attention and understand what is being told to you, for both conversation benefits and so you know what information is being presented to you. Cognitive skills have a lot to do with the storage, retrieval, and usage of specific information. During a conversation, you hear a piece of information and your brain will immediately store that piece of information. If the information was an assignment, or instructions, you will have to remember it and retrieve it from your memory and then use that piece of information by way of demonstrating you understood what you were told to do by your boss. This is a perfect example of reflective listening and cognitive skills working simultaneously.

Cognitive processes also involve different skill sets, such as intelligence, problem solving, memory, and decision making. Its important to make note of everything that influences your reflective listening skills. Understanding cognitive skills can help improve your reflective listening, and may even expand your horizon. When being presented with information, you store, retrieve, and use that information according to what you were instructed to do.

Citation

Pecchioni, L., Wright, K. and Nussbaum, J. (2012). Life-span communication. London: Routledge.