Attendance Policies, Student Attendance, and Instructor Verbal Aggressiveness

The authors utilized an experimental design across six sections of a managerial communications course (N = 173) to test the impact of instructor verbal aggressiveness and class attendance policies on student class attendance. The experimental group received a policy based on the principle of social proof (R. B. Cialdini, 2001), which indicated that for similar students, class attendance was linked to high academic performance. Students also assessed their instructor's level of verbal aggressiveness (D. A. Infante, 1979). Results suggest that instructor verbal aggressiveness did not influence class attendance. However, social proof did positively influence class attendance rates under certain circumstances. The authors discuss the study implications.