Exploring Teachers’ Verbal Aggressiveness through Interpersonal Attraction and Students’ Intrinsic Motivation

Abstract

This study is aiming at: 1) exploring the relationship between perceived teachers verbal aggressiveness, interpersonal attraction and student intrinsic motivation; 2) investigating the influence of teachers verbal aggressiveness on their interpersonal attraction and student intrinsic motivation in physical education context and 3) proposing a students’ and teachers’ typology. The sample consisted of 223 Greek students (125 males, 98 females) aged 10 - 12 years old (M = 11.2, SD = 0.49) from primary schools. The results supported the internal consistency of the instruments. Statistically significant differences were observed in instructors’ verbal aggressiveness, physical attraction, enjoyment/importance, competence and pressure/tension between the genders of the students. ANOVA’s findings supported that there was a significant dependence between schools regions on the factors of effort/interest and pressure/tension. Perceived instructors’ verbal aggressiveness was negatively related to social attraction, task attraction, physical attraction, enjoyment/importance, effort/interest and competence, while there was a positive significant relationship between verbal aggressiveness and pressure/tension. The results of regression analysis revealed that perceived instructors’ verbal aggressiveness could significantly predict the variables of social, physical attraction and students’ effort/interest, competence and pressure/tension. Distinct types of relations between students and instructors may be distinguished: The “motivation by attraction” and “student autonomy”.