The Aggressiveness of Playful Arguments

• In Event: Spectacles Of The People/ For The People: Constructing Legitimate Authoritative Arguments

Abstract

Previous research and theory suggest that playfulness may be associated with aggression. We found support for the hypothesis that self-reported playfulness and aggression are directly associated. We found little association between self-reported playfulness and indices of cooperation and avoidance. Self-reports of playfulness are not significantly associated with expert coders’ ratings of either playfulness or aggressiveness.

Authors

• Dale Hample, University of Maryland

• Bing Han, University of South Carolina, Aiken

• David Payne, University of Maryland