Predicting Affectionate and Aggressive Teasing Motivation on the Basis of Self-Esteem and Imagined Interactions With the Teasing Victim

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was an examination of the association between self-esteem, imagined interactions, and teasing motivation. Teasing motivation serves functions of being playful and aggressive. Self-esteem is associated with teasing outcomes. Research is needed to examine the strategic planning of teasing. A mechanism for doing this is the examination of imagined interactions (IIs) in which people think about conversations. We wanted to see if IIs accounted for additional variance beyond self-esteem in predicting teasing motivation. Two hierarchical regression models were used to test hypotheses and research questions. Aggressive teasing was predicted by using IIs to ruminate about conflict, catharsis, and rehearsal. The implications of the findings for teasing and II theory as well as future research are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Affectionate teasing
• imagined interaction
• self-esteem
• teasing

Funding

This research was funded through the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Faculty Travel Grant Program.