ABSTRACT
In a typical college classroom of 30 students, we can expect about 6 or 7 students to refuse to go along with something the teacher wants them to do (Burroughs, 1990). At first glance, a resistance rate of only 16% to 20% may not seem particularly alarming; it may not even seem all that problematic. A closer look, however, reminds us that it only takes one or two students to ruin an entire class. When a student interrupts constantly, challenges our authority, incites other students, or insists that she or he knows more than we do, we eagerly anticipate the end of the school year. These kinds of student disruptions are endemic to the college classroom (Burroughs, 1990; Burroughs, Kearney, & Plax, 1989; Kearney & Plax, 1992; Kearney, Plax, & Burroughs, 1991).
