The relationship between perceived instructor communicator style, argumentativeness, and verbal aggressiveness

The purpose of this study was to examine the interrelationships among perceived instructor communicator style, perceived instructor trait argumentativeness, and perceived instructor trait verbal aggressiveness in the college classroom. Participants were 236 undergraduate students enrolled in a variety of communication courses at a large Eastern university. Results indicated that (a) perceived instructor trait argumentativeness was positively related to the perceived instructor communicator style attributes of impression leaving, contentious, open, dramatic, dominant, precise, relaxed, attentive, and animated; (b) perceived instructor trait verbal aggressiveness was positively related to the perceived instructor communicator style attributes of contentious and precise, and negatively related to the perceived communicator style attributes of impression leaving, relaxed, friendly, attentive, and animated; and (c) perceived instructor use of verbally aggressive messages was related in some way to the perceived instructor communicator style attributes of contentious, impression leaving, friendly, attentive, animated, relaxed, dramatic, and precise.