Graduate psychologists engaged in research (10 women, 10 men) were interviewed about their recall of and views on argument, defined as `a discursive disagreement between two people, each of whom wishes to convince the other of the validity of her/his point of view'. While most of the men talked of argument as bargaining and debate, all the women expressed concern about the effect of disagreement on relationships. Though this might be interpreted as supporting Gilligan's (1982) `different voice' theory, accounts of arguments vary depending on relationships. Women report difficulties of communication in intimate relationships, but claim success due to logic and rationality in argument with male colleagues and supervisors. By contrast, men report successful communication with close friends, but lack of success with colleagues, and invoke stereotypes when arguments fail with women in all relationships.
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