Toward a Collective Framework on Verbal Aggression

Abstract

In the epilogue to this special issue, a hierarchical antagonistic process model is offered as a collective framework to explain the antecedents and consequences of verbal aggression described in the five preceding articles. The model proposes that the general traits of motivation to argue and verbal aggressiveness are second-order factors exerting top-down influence on more statelike subsidiary motives and attitudes. A test of the model (N = 743) found support for the proposed four-step process: Argumentation training increased motivation to argue, motivation to argue increased ability to argue, ability to argue increased self-esteem, and self-esteem decreased verbal aggressiveness. However, the indirect negative effect of motivation to argue on verbal aggressiveness was offset by a much larger direct positive effect. Belief systems theory was used to identify potential mediators of this positive effect and to explain other aspects of the verbal aggression process.