Hunting Snark: an Exploration of Beliefs About and Use of Aggressive Sarcasm in Friendship Conflict

Abstract

Scholars agree that conflict management behaviors are one critical determinant of the positive or negative relational and individual consequences of friendship conflict. Aggression is regularly regarded as a maladaptive conflict response by scholars and individuals alike. However, there is a subset of indirect aggressive behavior that may be alluring in a conflict setting but is not yet understood – snark. Two studies explore views of snark and measurement of its use. The first study examined the normative beliefs and naïve theories people hold about snark in relation to alternative conflict behaviors. The impacts of gender and personality traits on snark views were explored. The second study established a self-report measure of individuals’ inclination to using snark in response to friendship issues. Snark use’s relationships with gender, personality traits, and friendship qualities were examined. These studies provide a foundation for future research on this potentially problematic conflict response.