Author(s)

Alexandra Bekiari, Dimitrios Petanidis

Faculty of Physical Education and Sports Science, University of Thessaly, Trikala, Greece.

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”.

Verbal Aggressiveness, Interpersonal Attraction, Intrinsic Motivation, Physical Education

Bekiari, A. and Petanidis, D. (2016) Exploring Teachers’ Verbal Aggressiveness through Interpersonal Attraction and Students’ Intrinsic Motivation. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 4, 72-85. doi: 10.4236/jss.2016.412007.