The objective of this listening type is to focus on the sounds. What is this listening type called?

• A. Selective
• B. Auditory
• C. Discriminative
• D. Passive

Answer: (C)

Discriminative listening is about distinguishing sounds. It trains you to hear subtle differences in phonemes, pronunciation, tone, and rhythm so you can accurately identify what’s being said, even when there’s noise or similar-sounding words. That focus on parsing sound details is what makes this type best for ensuring you catch the exact meaning of messages.

Other types emphasize general hearing (auditory), or filtering out distractions to hear a single source (selective), or listening without active engagement (passive). They don’t specifically target distinguishing fine sound differences the way discriminative listening does.