Akron, Ohio, June 9, 2006 Brace yourselves, parents school's out and your children are home for a happy summer of . . . bickering?
Dr. Andrew Rancer of Stow, a professor in the University of Akron's School of Communication, can't stop your children from arguing with you and each other he doesn't want to. He can, however, help them and you learn how to argue more effectively to improve relationships within the family, at work, with friends and in school.
Rancer is the co-author of a new book, Argumentative and Aggressive Communication: Theory, Research, and Application, published in April by Sage Publications.
The book is the first of its kind to describe the development, history, research and application efforts on the communication traits of argumentativeness and verbal aggressiveness.
We give suggestions and strategies for handling destructive aggressive communication, Rancer says. We also tell you how to argue constructively. Adults and children can use the information in the book to become stronger and more effective communicators.
For example, how should a parent respond when a child does not clean his or her room when asked? Rancer says to avoid attacking the child's self-concept: You little slob, why didn't you clean up your room like I asked?
Instead, attack the child's position on the issue: Good parents deserve respect; when you don't do what I request, it demonstrates a lack of respect for me.
Parental verbal aggression tends to set up a closed and defensive family communication climate, observes Rancer.
Parents who rate themselves high on verbal aggressiveness tend to have children who were hesitant to discuss issues, share opinions and felt much less free to communicate in the family, he says. All of this closes the lines of communication between parent and child, which can extend well into adulthood.
Rancer's research has been featured in numerous books and journals. He received his doctorate in speech communication from Kent State University and teaches communication studies classes at 秀色短视频 in interpersonal and organizational communication.
For more information or to purchase the book, visit Sage Publications at http://www.sagepub.com.