Examines two factors (affirming/nonaffirming style and dyad sex) to determine if they influence perceptions of verbal aggression and argumentation behavior in an interpersonal dispute. Finds that fewer mistakes were made in the perception of verbal aggression in the conflict when they communicated with an affirming rather than a nonaffirming…

Presents a unit for teaching students to understand and control verbal aggression in their interpersonal relationships. Focuses on enhancing students' understanding of verbal aggression, helping students develop strategies for controlling verbal aggression, and providing activities to stimulate internalization of knowledge and strategies. (SR)

Presents and tests the verbal-plan approach as a basis for predicting verbal behavior. (Defines verbal plan as "what an individual intends to say in a specific situation or a general situation.") (PD)

Examines communicative responses to the highly argumentative person. Finds that the adversary's use of verbal aggression provokes male subjects to be more verbally aggressive, but stimulates female subjects to be more argumentative. (RAE)

Discusses theory that an attitude toward a proposed change in policy can be predicted from attitudes toward the consequences associated with the change. (ML)

Presents validation, from a communication perspective, for semantic differential scales designed to measure attitude toward an object. The favorableness of sources' verbal behavior about an object was related to sources' attitudes toward the object. Receivers accurately estimated sources' attitudes and the favorableness of sources' verbal…