Final answer:
The statement that emphatic listening prioritizes critical evaluation of a message's truth value is false. Emphatic listening is about understanding the speaker's emotions and perspective, rather than immediately judging the content's truthfulness. Evaluating truthfulness involves separate processes of critical thinking and fact-checking.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that emphatic listening prioritizes critical evaluation of a message's truth value is false. Emphatic listening, also known as empathic listening, is more concerned with understanding the speaker's feelings, thoughts, and perspectives without immediately judging the content's truthfulness. Instead of critically evaluating a message's truth value, emphatic listening focuses on building rapport and providing emotional support to the speaker.
When we listen emphatically, we use tools of metacognition to reflect on the source of our emotions and manage them effectively. This helps in developing an understanding of the underlying emotion behind a comment and engaging in active participation without prematurely evaluating the information provided.
Moreover, evaluating the truth of a message is a separate process that involves checking facts, assessing expertise, and considering the reliability of the source. Trustworthy sources should be honest, unbiased, rational, well-informed, and clearheaded. In the context of evaluating arguments and testimony, verifying the truth involves critical thinking and fact-checking, but these are not the main goals of emphatic listening.