Interpersonal communication can be viewed in terms of an aggressive-nonaggressive continuum. Past research has often focused on nonaggressive forms of interpersonal communication, such as understanding how people get to know one another, how trust and intimacy develop, and the role of self-disclosure in relationship development. However,…

In light of cultural stereotypes in which Black women function as strong heads of households while Hispanic women serve as obedient wives, a study examined whether Black and Hispanic subjects evaluated assertive speech differently when attributed to a male or female speaker. Subjects, 75 Blacks and 100 Hispanics, all undergraduate students…

Documented sex differences in speech and their significance are considered. The research literature on sex-differentiated speech reveals the influence of sex-role stereotypes and assumptions about the relation of speech to sex-differentiated socialization. The more substantiated differences form three clusters: (1) the production of esteemed…

Recent research indicates that a significant number of college-age women suffer from bulimarexia (also called the gorging-purging syndrome, the binge-purge cycle, bulimia or bulimia nervosa). To examine the relationship of three personality variables (anxiety, assertiveness, and locus of control) to eating disorders, 46 college students…

This monograph presents a selective review of references about assertiveness training. The principles of assertiveness training are detailed with examples throughout. Applications for the use of assertiveness training in three areas are discussed: (1) as a self-help strategy, (2) as a tool for the counselor's use with clients, and (3) as tactics…

Funded under the Women's Educational Equity Act, the Assertiveness Training Program for Single Mothers was offered to mothers with children enrolled in the Omaha Head Start and Parent-Child Center Programs. The 16-week long program, providing a total of 40 hours of training, covered a wide range of topics in addition to the initial workshops on…

The contribution of a structured procedure designed to facilitate the generalization of assertive behavior was examined. Subjects solicited from the community (N=48) were assigned to an assertion training plus generalization instructions (AT Plus), an assertion training only (AT Only), or an attention-placebo control condition. Both behavioral…

A study was undertaken to determine the relationship between assertiveness and communication apprehension by examining common factors that exist between the items on the Rathus Assertiveness Schedule and the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension. The two instruments were administered to students at a large midwestern university. Responses…

The process of assertive behavior change of college women who received assertion training (AT) and cognitive restructuring was examined to assess the relative effects of different durations of exposure to cognitive restructuring. Undergraduate and graduate women students (N=27) at a state university volunteered and were screened for AT groups.…

The reliability and meaning of assertiveness tests were explored using 120 female undergraduates. Several self-report inventories (the College Self-Expression Scale, Conflict Resolution Inventory, and a global rating from one to seven) were administered, as were three anxiety measures (Timed Behavior Checklist, response latency, and response…

This program offers assistance in developing a workshop on assertiveness training for students. It discusses how assertiveness helps one learn self-control and take responsibility for one's own behavior. Examples of assertive and non-assertive behavior and exercises to increase assertiveness are delineated as they relate to classroom skills,…

This leader's guide is designed to assist those individuals responsible for conducting workshops for building self-confidence. The manual includes a brief discussion of theoretical background, a bibliography of references and related resource books, and a justification and description of the pre-group interview. Goals, exercises, hand-outs, and…

This presentation describes a course, "Lifework Planning," designed to help women evaluate their current job status and plan career changes commensurate with long-range life goals. The framework for the program is self-directed learning, through which women develop coping strategies for change. Participants and leaders make mutual decisions…

Recent research on the effects of women's studies courses has indicated that there are two general approaches to teaching: a concern for competence or mastery and a concern for personal change and advocacy. It was hypothesized that students taking a psychology of women course would become more androgynous and masculine in sex-role concept, more…

Fifty-six subjects were treated in an eight-week program including social learning, behavioral, cognitive, and assertiveness training procedures aimed at the alleviation of depression. Therapist contact, a cost-effectiveness variable, was varied across four treatment groups: individual therapy, small group, large group, and bibliotherapy.…