Abstract

In the current series of studies, we investigate the psychosocial connotations of common insults. In Studies 1 and 2, we investigated the most frequently used insults to denigrate men and women (asshole, dick, bitch), and generated trait profiles that can be considered prototypical of each insult. In Studies 3 and 4, we examined how these insults are relevant to other key indicators of interpersonal functioning, including aggression, social information processing, personality disorders, and substance use. We also gathered thin-slice and informant reports. Each of the insults was associated with trait Antagonism, as well as other behaviors that comprise Antagonism’s nomological network (e.g., bullying, psychopathy, etc.). Results are discussed in terms of the importance of everyday language to psychological research.

Comments

This is the author-accepted manuscript of Hyatt, C. S., Maples-Keller, J. L., Sleep, C. E., Lynam, D. R., and Miller, J. D. (2019) The anatomy of an insult: Popular derogatory terms connote important individual differences in Agreeableness/Antagonism. Journal of Research in Personality, 78, 61-75. Copyright Elsevier, it is made available here CC-BY-NC-ND, and the version of record can be found at DOI: 10.1016/j.jrp.2018.11.005.

Keywords

insults; five factor model; antagonism; externalizing behavior; lexical hypothesis

Date of this Version

2-1-2019

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