Which of the following is not true about the listening process?

The correct answer is Option (1) → Hearing and listening are the same

Option (1) Hearing and listening are the same — False. Hearing and listening are not the same. Hearing is a biological activity, the reception of a message through sensory channels. Listening is a fuller process that involves reception, attention, assignment of meaning and the listener’s response to the message.

Option (2) Listening requires a person to be attentive — True. Listening may look passive because it involves silence, but it requires a person to be attentive; attention is one of its steps after the message is received.

Option (3) The listener should be patient and non judgemental — True. A good listener should be patient, non-judgmental and yet have the capacity to analyse and respond.

Option (4) Hearing is only a part of listening — True. Hearing covers only the reception of the message; listening goes on to attention, meaning and response, so hearing is only a part of it.

Note: The listening skill, with the difference between hearing and listening, was there in the chapter ‘Developing Psychological Skills’ of the pre-rationalised NCERT, which NTA followed in 2022, and is not there in the NCERT book (2025-26).