diff --git a/packages/toolkit/src/createAction.ts b/packages/toolkit/src/createAction.ts
index 0647a04621..ab52d1c4fc 100644
--- a/packages/toolkit/src/createAction.ts
+++ b/packages/toolkit/src/createAction.ts
@@ -224,7 +224,7 @@ export type PayloadActionCreator<
  * A utility function to create an action creator for the given action type
  * string. The action creator accepts a single argument, which will be included
  * in the action object as a field called payload. The action creator function
- * will also have its toString() overriden so that it returns the action type,
+ * will also have its toString() overridden so that it returns the action type,
  * allowing it to be used in reducer logic that is looking for that action type.
  *
  * @param type The action type to use for created actions.
@@ -241,7 +241,7 @@ export function createAction<P = void, T extends string = string>(
  * A utility function to create an action creator for the given action type
  * string. The action creator accepts a single argument, which will be included
  * in the action object as a field called payload. The action creator function
- * will also have its toString() overriden so that it returns the action type,
+ * will also have its toString() overridden so that it returns the action type,
  * allowing it to be used in reducer logic that is looking for that action type.
  *
  * @param type The action type to use for created actions.
@@ -286,6 +286,16 @@ export function createAction(type: string, prepareAction?: Function): any {
   return actionCreator
 }
 
+/**
+ * Returns true if value is a plain object with a `type` property.
+ */
+export function isAction(action: unknown): action is Action<unknown> {
+  return isPlainObject(action) && 'type' in action
+}
+
+/**
+ * Returns true if value is an action with a string type and valid Flux Standard Action keys.
+ */
 export function isFSA(action: unknown): action is {
   type: string
   payload?: unknown
@@ -293,8 +303,8 @@ export function isFSA(action: unknown): action is {
   meta?: unknown
 } {
   return (
-    isPlainObject(action) &&
-    typeof (action as any).type === 'string' &&
+    isAction(action) &&
+    typeof action.type === 'string' &&
     Object.keys(action).every(isValidKey)
   )
 }
diff --git a/packages/toolkit/src/index.ts b/packages/toolkit/src/index.ts
index 2ea3e1384c..1f32530046 100644
--- a/packages/toolkit/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/toolkit/src/index.ts
@@ -39,6 +39,8 @@ export {
   // js
   createAction,
   getType,
+  isAction,
+  isFSA as isFluxStandardAction,
 } from './createAction'
 export type {
   // types
diff --git a/packages/toolkit/src/listenerMiddleware/index.ts b/packages/toolkit/src/listenerMiddleware/index.ts
index d96b9257db..56205295ee 100644
--- a/packages/toolkit/src/listenerMiddleware/index.ts
+++ b/packages/toolkit/src/listenerMiddleware/index.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import type { Dispatch, AnyAction, MiddlewareAPI } from 'redux'
 import type { ThunkDispatch } from 'redux-thunk'
-import { createAction } from '../createAction'
+import { createAction, isAction } from '../createAction'
 import { nanoid } from '../nanoid'
 
 import type {
@@ -426,6 +426,11 @@ export function createListenerMiddleware<
 
   const middleware: ListenerMiddleware<S, D, ExtraArgument> =
     (api) => (next) => (action) => {
+      if (!isAction(action)) {
+        // we only want to notify listeners for action objects
+        return next(action)
+      }
+
       if (addListener.match(action)) {
         return startListening(action.payload)
       }
diff --git a/packages/toolkit/src/listenerMiddleware/tests/fork.test.ts b/packages/toolkit/src/listenerMiddleware/tests/fork.test.ts
index 2756e09f15..6d9e6abb56 100644
--- a/packages/toolkit/src/listenerMiddleware/tests/fork.test.ts
+++ b/packages/toolkit/src/listenerMiddleware/tests/fork.test.ts
@@ -367,7 +367,7 @@ describe('fork', () => {
         },
       })
 
-      store.dispatch(increment)
+      store.dispatch(increment())
 
       expect(await deferredResult).toBe(listenerCompleted)
     })
diff --git a/packages/toolkit/src/tests/createAction.test.ts b/packages/toolkit/src/tests/createAction.test.ts
index b5e8b67b26..5b481b945c 100644
--- a/packages/toolkit/src/tests/createAction.test.ts
+++ b/packages/toolkit/src/tests/createAction.test.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { createAction, getType } from '@reduxjs/toolkit'
+import { createAction, getType, isAction } from '@reduxjs/toolkit'
 
 describe('createAction', () => {
   it('should create an action', () => {
@@ -122,6 +122,27 @@ describe('createAction', () => {
   })
 })
 
+describe('isAction', () => {
+  it('should only return true for plain objects with a type property', () => {
+    const actionCreator = createAction('anAction')
+    class Action {
+      type = 'totally an action'
+    }
+    const testCases: [action: unknown, expected: boolean][] = [
+      [{ type: 'an action' }, true],
+      [{ type: 'more props', extra: true }, true],
+      [actionCreator(), true],
+      [actionCreator, false],
+      [Promise.resolve({ type: 'an action' }), false],
+      [new Action(), false],
+      ['a string', false],
+    ]
+    for (const [action, expected] of testCases) {
+      expect(isAction(action)).toBe(expected)
+    }
+  })
+})
+
 describe('getType', () => {
   it('should return the action type', () => {
     const actionCreator = createAction('A_TYPE')