Aggressiveness networks in school classes: Dynamic analysis and comparison of structures

Abstract

The aim of this research is to analyze diachronic evolvements of verbal aggressiveness, to examine the relations among different dimensions of aggressive behaviors (rudeness, offense, mockery, irony), and to depict distinct types of aggressive behaviors comparing the results of indegree (occasional hierarchy) with those of katz (accumulative hierarchy). Various parameters of indegree and katz centrality have been measured for these purposes (maximal and minimal values, average, density, oligarchy, monopoly). Standardized questionnaires containing network variables were applied in twelve classes (networks) (from the 5th class of primary school to the 3rd class of high school) totally consisting of 246 nodes (127 male, 119 female). The software Visone (for network analysis) and SPSS (for Spearman test and Principal Component Analysis-PCA) were used. In the late adolescence (high school) students tend to seek dominance not in behavioral arenas where it is relatively easy to arrogate and concentrate the links of aggressive actions, but in more antagonistic behavioral forms (irony) necessitating supposedly a settled system of challenging values such as mental and intellectual readiness. In general, students tend to abandon verbal aggressiveness in the course of time. Diachronically, the occasional hierarchy (indegree) of verbal aggressiveness may be slightly differentiated while accumulative hierarchy (katz) remains unchanged which indicates a stability of idiosyncrasy. In the occasional (indegree) verbal aggressiveness patterns, the offense seems to be complemented with irony or balanced with mockery. As for the accumulative patterns (katz) of verbal aggressiveness, irony, rudeness, and offense appear to shape a more cohesive behavioral core but without any regular involvement of mockery. Maximal verbal aggressors try to achieve a wide synergy of all dimensions of aggressiveness both in occasional and in accumulative hierarchies while the minimal ones are more inhibited or selective. The “distinguished” type either in indegree or katz tends to maximally and extensively exert and monopolize verbal aggression. The “selective” type uses rudeness as a core combined with irony and offense occasionally or accumulatively, respectively. A “reserved” type tends to be restrained at minimal level using mockery. © Common Ground Research Networks, Aikaterini Vasilou, Alexandra Bekiari, Nikolaos Hasanagas, All Rights Reserved. Permissions: support@cgnetworks.org