INTERPERSONAL SENSITIVITY AS A KEY ELEMENT OF BANK EMPLOYEES' COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE: THEORETICAL OVERVIEW AND EMPIRICAL STUDY

Abstract

This article examines interpersonal sensitivity as a core component of communicative competence among banking professionals, offering both a theoretical synthesis and original empirical evidence. The study addresses a gap in the Ukrainian psychological literature, where the socio-perceptual dimensions of professional communication in financial services remain underexplored. Drawing on contemporary frameworks of social perception, the paper analyses the construct’s structure, functions, and practical relevance in service-client interactions. The study employs a mixed-method design within a descriptive research strategy, combining standardized quantitative measurement with qualitative thematic analysis. Theoretical methods included systematic analysis and comparison of scholarly sources. Empirical data were collected using the authors' original Interpersonal Sensitivity Questionnaire for Banking Professionals (ISQ-BE), comprising 18 Likert-scale items across three theoretically grounded subscales: emotional-perceptive sensitivity, communicative adaptability, and motivational involvement. Content validity was established through independent expert review. The pilot sample comprised 84 employees of banking and financial institutions, with internal consistency confirmed at Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Spearman's rank correlation; open-ended responses were processed through manual thematic coding. The findings reveal statistically significant positive correlations between all three subscales and self-reported communicative effectiveness. The strongest association was observed between emotional-perceptive sensitivity and communicative adaptability supporting the theoretical view that accurate emotional perception and behavioral flexibility are functionally interdependent. Qualitative analysis identified attention to non-verbal cues and empathic listening as the primary facilitative factors, while absence of feedback and communicative ambiguity emerged as the main barriers to effective client interaction. These results position interpersonal sensitivity as a systemic psychosocial resource underpinning professional communication quality and subjective perceptions of occupational effectiveness. Future research should focus on validating the factorial structure of the ISQ-BE on larger and more representative samples, examining how interpersonal sensitivity develops across professional career trajectories, and evaluating the impact of targeted training interventions designed to cultivate this capacity among client-facing banking staff.