Discussing The Argumentativeness Scale

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.

Date of Award	2008
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	Eastern Illinois University
Supervisor	Sherry Holloday (Supervisor)