Situational determinants of assertive behaviors.

Abstract

Thirty-two assertive situations that varied in social-interpersonal context were administered to 60 hospitalized psychiatric patients via role playing. Half of the role-played situations required the expression of negative (hostile) assertiveness, and the other half required positive (commendatory) assertive expression. Situational context was varied by having the subjects respond to male and female interpersonal partners who were either familiar or unfamiliar to patients. Responses were videotaped and rated on five measures of speech content and seven measures of nonverbal behavior. Additionally, groups of high- and low-assertive patients were identified from the total sample using a behavioral measure of global assertiveness and a self-report instrument. Results indicated that interpersonal behavior in assertive situations varied as a function of social context. Further, highland low-assertive subjects were differentiated on the basis of 9 of the 12 measures of interpersonal behavior. Support for a stimulus specific theory of assertive behaviors and implications for assertive training are discussed.