Jill E. Rudd

Test of an argumentative skill deficiency model of interspousal violence

A model of interpersonal physical violence is derived from the aggression literature and then is utilized to investigate interspousal violence. The model posits that verbal aggression is a catalyst to violence when societal, personal, and situational factors are strong enough to produce a hostile predisposition. Unless aroused by verbal aggression, a hostile disposition remains latent in the form of unexpressed anger. The framework suggests that persons in violent, marriages are more verbally aggressive than other people, and also produces the counterintuitive prediction that violent spouses are less argumentative than people in nonviolent marriages. A study is reported which compared clinical cases of abused wives and abusive husbands to a nonclinical population of husbands and wives. Strong support for the hypothesis was observed. Implications of the results are discussed in terms of understanding communication in violent marriages.

Verbal aggression in violent and nonviolent marital disputes

Recent research suggests that verbal aggression may function as a catalyst to violence between spouses in marital disputes. Communication skills deficiencies may predispose spouses to rely upon verbal aggression in family conflict situations instead of more constructive forms of communication such as argumentation. This suggests a need to understand better the role of verbal aggression in interspousal violence. A study is presented which compared a sample of nonabused wives to a clinical sample of abused wives in terms of self‐reports of the use of verbal aggression by the husband and wife in their most recent dispute. While there were several differences between the two groups, of the ten types of verbally aggressive messages examined, character attacks most clearly differentiated violent from nonviolent marital disputes. Two hypotheses which predicted the degree of verbal aggression in violent and nonviolent disputes and the relationship between husband and wife usage were supported. Implications are di...

Fathers' trait verbal aggressiveness and argumentativeness as predictors of adult sons' perceptions of fathers' sarcasm, criticism, and verbal aggressiveness

This research used Infantes (1987) conceptualization of trait verbal aggressiveness and argumentativeness to analyze adult males’ perceptions of their fathers’ messages. In the present study, fathers’ self‐reports of verbal aggressiveness and argumentativeness were used to predict their adult sons’ reports of fathers’ sarcasm, criticism, and global verbal aggressiveness. Results of multivariate regression analyses indicated that (1) fathers’ argumentativeness accounted for a significant percentage of variance in the dependent variable set but did not contribute significantly to the univariate equations and (2) fathers’ verbal aggressiveness explained a significant percentage of the multivariance and contributed significantly to each univariate equation. Overall, the predictor set explained 39.32% of the variance in the dependent variable set. As predicted, the preponderance of the effect (30.05%) was due to fathers’ verbal aggressiveness. Implications are discussed.

An empirical test of a communibiological model of trait verbal aggressiveness

The purpose of this study was to test Beatty and McCroskeys communibiological model of trait verbal aggressiveness. In general, this model views trait verbal aggressiveness as an expression of temperament; specifically, that trait verbal aggressiveness represents low thresholds for the fight or flight (FFS) neurobiological system. This model further contends that behavioral inhibition circuitry (BIS) moderates FFS activation by tempering aggressive impulses, otherwise FFS activation would manifest itself in the form of physical rather than verbal attacks. Beatty and McCroskey (1997) propose that low thresholds for stimulating the behavioral activation system (BAS) should be related to trait verbal aggressiveness to the extent that the construct involves a proactive rather than a purely reactive interpersonal function. Because previous research indicated that psychoticism (P), neuroticism (N) and extroversion (E) represent psychological manifestations of the FFS, BIS, and BAS systems, respectively, hypoth...

A re‐examination of the verbal aggressiveness scale: One factor or two?

The contribution of Infante and Wigleys theoretical work regarding trait verbal aggressiveness has been underscored by the numerous investigations into the nature, correlates, and consequences of trait verbal aggressiveness in a wide variety of social contexts. Although results consistent with theoretical expectations have been obtained when the Verbal Aggressiveness Scale (VAS) has been employed in a unidimensional form, recent evidence suggests that the precision of the VAS can be enhanced through multi‐dimensional interpretation. In the present study, evidence gleaned from (I) exploratory factor analyses, (2) interfactor correlations, and (3) reliability analyses, all cast doubt on a unidimensional interpretation of the VAS. Conceptual and methodological implications are discussed.

A “dark side”; of communication avoidance: Indirect interpersonal aggressiveness

Although our understanding of direct forms of verbal aggressiveness has been greatly advanced over the past decade, indirect interpersonal aggressiveness has remained relatively understudied. In the present study, items designed to tap indirect forms of interpersonal aggressiveness were written, administered to participants, factor analyzed along with verbal aggressiveness items, and correlated with a criterion measure. Results produced an internally consistent set of item which: (1) loaded on a separate factor from verbal aggressiveness items, (2) contributed unique variance over that accounted for by verbal aggressiveness in the prediction of psychoticism, a theoretically appropriate criterion variable for validating aggression measures, and (3) loaded on the same factor with verbal aggressiveness and psychoticism when second‐order factor analysis was conducted.

Battered women's compliance‐gaining strategies as a function of argumentativeness and verbal aggression

This study investigated (1) the type of compliance‐gaining strategies that battered women reported using in domestic conflicts and (2) whether these strategies related to the battered womens verbal aggression and argumentativeness. Participants in this study were 115 abused women who were seeking refuge from abusive spouses in temporary shelters for battered women. The results suggest that battered women most frequently reported using indirect strategies. Aversive Stimulation (i.e., pouting sulking, crying) and ingratiation (i.e., manipulation in the form of affection or favor‐doing) were the top two strategies reported. Furthermore, a canonical correlation analysis resulted in an overall significant relationship between compliance‐gaining strategies and argumentativeness and verbal aggressiveness.

A Twins study of communicative adaptability: Heritability of individual differences

Recently, a model of communication theory and research has appeared in the literature within which stable individual differences in communication behavior represent individual differences in activation thresholds of neurobiological systems. The neurobiological systems thought to underly communication traits and behavior are assumed to be primarily due to genetic inheritance. As such, the model assigns a limited role to adaptability in social situations, instead positing communication adaptability as an inherited trait. In the present study, heritability estimates for the dimensions of communicative adaptability were derived from correlations based on identical and fraternal twins’ responses to a multidimensional communicative adaptability measure. Results indicated that social composure was 88% heritable, wit was 90% heritable, social confirmation was 37% heritable, articulation ability, and appropriate disclosure were 0% heritable. Theoretical implications are discussed.

“I'm all for equal rights, but don't call me a feminist”: Identity Dilemmas in Young Adults' Discursive Representations of Being a Feminist

The purpose of the study was to understand how young adults identified with the feminist label. Focus groups were conducted with males and females age 18–30 to ascertain the meaning they ascribed to the term. A theoretical identity framework emerged as a useful tool for understanding how participants were (not) identifying with the feminist identity. Participants expressed accepting or rejecting the label, the identity, and the ideals, materializing into four varieties of language called embracing, denouncing, refraining, and resisting.

Interactive effects of parents’ trait verbal aggressiveness and situational frustration on parents’ self‐reported anger

In recent years, communication scholars have begun to examine the role of trait verbal aggressiveness in shaping relationships between parents and children. The present study examined the interactive effects of parents’ trait verbal aggressiveness and frustration induced by interaction with children on parents’ subjective experience of anger. Specifically, we hypothesized that parent anger in response to childrens noncompliance is a function of an ordinal interaction between parents’ trait verbal aggressiveness and situational frustration. A multiple regression equation employing (1) parents’ trait verbal aggressiveness scores, situational frustration scores, and a multiplicative function as predictor variables, and (2) parent anger scores as the dependant variable, accounted for 33.93 percent of the variance in anger scores with only the trait verbal aggressiveness X frustration interaction contributing significantly to the equation. These results confirm the interactionist perspective upon which the hy...