TY - JOUR
T1 - A Dutch dose of dissent: Exploring the role of gender, education, and culture on Dutch students' argumentative predispositions
T2 - Exploring the role of gender, education, and culture on Dutch students' argumentative predispositions
AU - Labrie, Nanon
AU - Akkermans, Aranka
AU - Hample, Dale
PY - 2020/10/28
Y1 - 2020/10/28
N2 - The Dutch are often thought of as direct, verbally aggressive, and argumentative. Yet, evidence for this stereotype is lacking. This study explores argumentative predispositions in the Netherlands. In a survey, Dutch students' (N=133) argumentativeness, verbal aggressiveness, argument frames, and conflict personalization were measured. The effects of gender and education were assessed. To explore the role of Dutch culture on argumentativeness, comparisons to U.S. students (benchmark) were made. Overall, Dutch students showed orientations, expectations, and understandings of argumentation as being useful and enjoyable, and seemed to experience argumentation predominantly positive. Males were more aggressive than females, and students in higher professional and university (preparatory) education were more constructive than students in vocational education. In contrast to expectations, Dutch students did not appear more predisposed to argue than U.S. students. Dutch students prioritized prosocial behaviors and professional reflection, thereby tempering aggression in arguing. Thus, argumentativeness is certainly not merely (stereo)typically Dutch.
AB - The Dutch are often thought of as direct, verbally aggressive, and argumentative. Yet, evidence for this stereotype is lacking. This study explores argumentative predispositions in the Netherlands. In a survey, Dutch students' (N=133) argumentativeness, verbal aggressiveness, argument frames, and conflict personalization were measured. The effects of gender and education were assessed. To explore the role of Dutch culture on argumentativeness, comparisons to U.S. students (benchmark) were made. Overall, Dutch students showed orientations, expectations, and understandings of argumentation as being useful and enjoyable, and seemed to experience argumentation predominantly positive. Males were more aggressive than females, and students in higher professional and university (preparatory) education were more constructive than students in vocational education. In contrast to expectations, Dutch students did not appear more predisposed to argue than U.S. students. Dutch students prioritized prosocial behaviors and professional reflection, thereby tempering aggression in arguing. Thus, argumentativeness is certainly not merely (stereo)typically Dutch.
KW - Argument frames
KW - Argumentative predispositions
KW - Argumentativeness
KW - Education
KW - Gender
KW - Netherlands
KW - Students
KW - Taking conflict personally
KW - United States
KW - Verbal aggressiveness
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85096072477&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85096072477&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1075/jaic.19009.lab
DO - https://doi.org/10.1075/jaic.19009.lab
M3 - Article
SN - 2211-4742
VL - 9
SP - 219
EP - 242
JO - Journal of Argumentation in Context
JF - Journal of Argumentation in Context
IS - 2
ER -