7. Perceiving how they talk

Chapter 7 discusses the “second-order listening belief”, which is the belief that the listener has about the talker’s first-order talking belief. It is the basis of the listener’s first-order listening belief and it may well be inaccurate. If so, this may explain possible biases of the first-order belief. Inaccurate or not, the second-order listening belief describes the meaning that the talker’s statement carries, from the perspective of the listener. The chapter also describes factors that reduce or increase the accuracy of understanding: the listener’s failure to realize the talker’s incentives to lie, the importance of context in the interpretation of a statement and, in particular, the ability to identify what information may be relevant to the talker.