A Content Analysis of Arguing Behaviors: A Case Study of Romania as Compared to the United States

A profile of arguing behaviors on Facebook

“…Interestingly, the open-ended responses revealed that individuals commented on a post in which another friend was being attacked or sided with others in defending the OP or the target of a verbally aggressive or inappropriate comment. This goal was not as frequently reported during FtF arguments by individuals in neither Cionea et al (2017) or Cionea et al (2015) as it was in our current data. This finding may be explained by the overemphasis on flaming in online contexts.…”

“…Surprisingly, while most participants reported such arguments had occurred in FtF contexts, with other people, only about half anticipated seeing the person in the future. This result is somewhat different than FtF arguments, which most often occur between proximal individuals, such as friends, romantic partners, family members, and co-workers (Cionea et al, 2015). Arguments on Facebook are generally inconsequential to the arguers (although some have negative consequences) and often fizzle out rather than reaching a clear conclusion.…”

“…As in FtF arguments, people often pursued multiple goals (RQ4), including both influence and face-saving goals (Cionea et al, 2017;Cionea et al, 2015). An interesting goal revealed during the coding process was defending oneself or others, which is somewhat similar to Cionea et al's (2017) standing up for oneself goal, but also brings some unique nuances.…”

“…Individuals argue about variety of issues, from trivial things, everyday decisions, and relationship issues, to financial and socio-political matters (Cionea, Hopârtean, Hoelscher, Ileș, & Straub, 2015). Kuhn (1991) claims some form of reasoning is believed to lie at the base of our thinking.…”

“…Goals are fundamental features of human interactions (Berger, 1997) and direct people's behavior when interacting with others (Dillard, 1990). Researchers have found that individuals pursue goals such as personal expression, dominance, persuasion/compliance gaining, problem-solving, or learning when arguing with others (Cionea et al, 2015), as well as mutual understanding, conflict resolution, standing up for oneself, enjoyment, or emotional release (Cionea, Hoelscher, & Ileș, 2017). Thus, in FtF interactions, arguing is used to accomplish a multitude of desired outcomes.…”