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Argumentation has been a major area for contemporary societies, especially in political, social, educational and mass media activities. Yet, Arab social psychologists have not been paying any attention to study argumentation. The goal of this study is to identify the components which underpin the argumentative behavior, as a primary step for the preperation of a scale to assess the ability of argumentation. This measurment will enable to objectively determine the dimensions of argumentation and its skills. To realize this goal, we apply content analysis of 66 articles written at different historical periods (Greek, Islamic, Contemporary European and contemporary Arabic). The data revealed fifty four components underlying argmentation. Then, these components were forwarded to 18 university staff members to determine their importance. This step reveals that 13 components are highly important, and related to the abilities of creativity and assertiveness.

Key words: Argumentation, Proofing, Reasoning, Rational appeal, Content analysis.