Identifying the Content and Topics of Instructor Use of Verbally Aggressive Messages

The purpose of this study is to extend the research conducted on perceived instructor verbal aggressiveness by identifying specific examples of Infante's 10 types of verbally aggressive messages used by instructors. Participants were 225 undergraduate students, who provided an example of a verbally aggressive message used by an instructor. From these examples, 9 types of verbally aggressive messages were identified: competence attacks, work ethic attacks, swearing, threats, character attacks, nonverbal behaviors, teasing, background attacks, and physical appearance attacks. Future research should examine both the extent to which instructors are perceived to use these 9 types of verbally aggressive messages and the reasons instructors report for why they use the messages.