Even though listening to another person in silence is considered to be a good trait, because of which the speaker feels good and motivated to speak further, it is not necessary that this stands true at all times. It has been said in a recent study that some people face increased anxiety if the listener remains silent and does not react on whatever is being said by them.
As per the study conducted by the Journal of Social Psychology, based on an experiment, being listened to silently does reduce anxiety in people who are narcissistic, and do not give value to others; but if a reaction is not given to a depressed person who is talking, then this increases anxiety in the person grappling with depression. This study was conducted at the Hebrew University Business School, by dividing 100 students into two groups of 50-50 each.
In these two groups of time-sharing and unrestricted addressing, one had to speak and the rest had to listen after every 3 minutes. An additional condition in time-sharing was that the listener had to remain silent and react only with facial expressions or a nod. In time-sharing, different effects of the study were seen on people with different personalities. Anxiety increased in the people who were suffering from depression because being listened to silently was considered as social rejection by them.
