The influence of sex on self‐perceptions and social stereotyping of aggressive communication predispositions

The purposes of this investigation were to: (1) determine whether sex differences exist in two aggressive communication predispositions, argumentativeness and verbal aggressiveness; (2) test for potential sex‐based stereotypes regarding those traits. In the analysis of stereotyping, sex was considered on two levels: (1) sex of the perceiver; (2) sex of the generalized group being judged. Results revealed that male respondents are significantly higher than female respondents in both aggressive communication predispositions (measured with the traditional self‐report instruments). In addition, both male and female participants perceive that generalized males are more argumentative and verbally aggressive than are generalized females. Implications of these findings to cross‐sex communication, communication training, and conflict management are discussed.