Communication Competence

Anne M. Nicotera

28Verbal and physical aggression

Abstract: This chapter provides a review and critique of the literature connecting aggression to communicative competence. First, links in the literature between of aggression and conflict are reviewed, acknowledging the constructive potential of conflict. There is a presumption among aggression scholars that aggression is destructive; however, constructive forms of aggression have long been conceptualized. The literature on communication predispositions to aggression defines aggression as the application of force, distinguishes symbolic from physical aggression, and explicates its constructive and destructive forms (argumentativeness and verbal aggressiveness). The relationship of aggression ...