Graduate Program

Communication Studies

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Semester of Degree Completion

2008

Thesis Director

Sherry Holloday

Thesis Committee Member

Melanie Mills

Thesis Committee Member

None

Abstract

Studies have shown that people may associate the word "argue" on the argumentativeness scale with concepts associated with verbal aggressiveness, such as name calling or quarrels. The perceptions of the words used in the argumentativeness scale may result in considerable social desirability bias. A possible way of rectifying this problem involves I the substitution of key words. This thesis reports three studies investigating participants' perceptions of the word "argue" and its derivatives as well as synonyms for the word "argue." Findings show that individuals tend to perceive the words "argue" and "argument" in a negative light. Substituting "discuss controversial issues" and "discussion about controversial issues" for "argue" and "argument" did result in increased argumentativeness scores for some participants.

Download

Included in

Communication Commons

Share

COinS