The meaning of hearing refers to the sense of hearing, it is what the ear captures. The verb listen corresponds to the act of listening carefully.
That is, to listen is to understand what is being captured by hearing, but, in addition, to understand and process the information internally.
Therefore, the difference between hearing and listening is what happens after the individual receives the sound. He's listening when there's little interaction, and listening when he's paying attention to what's coming out.
The popular expression "went in one ear and out the other" illustrates the act of listening, when information seems not to be captured by the sound receiver.
Already the expression "Speaks, I hear you", popularized by the religious program of the same name, shows the meaning of listening, in which one has the power of speech and the other pays attention to what is said as a way of relieving anguish through words.
Example of the difference between hearing and listening
Sabrina attended conferences and just listened to what the speakers had to say, not listening to anything.
Difference between listening and listening in psychology
The difference between hearing and listening in psychology lies within the scope of function. In a psychoanalysis session, the psychotherapist, in addition to listening, listens analytically to what is said by the patient.
Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory starts from the so-called "speech space", placing the patient's word as a central place in the therapeutic process.
From this perspective, the analytical listening, seen as essential in psychology and psychoanalysis so that the professional can retain the speech of the other.
The psychotherapist's action of listening goes through the fact of not paying too much attention to a certain point, and thus neglecting others, just listening to them. It is a dedication called "floating attention", uniformly listening to what the patient says, so as not to select only parts of speech.
See also the differences between:
- Understanding and interpretation of text
- character and personality