Perceptions of Assertiveness by Women Involved in a Conflict Situation

Abstract

This study extends previous research by examining the social impact of assertiveness upon differentially assertive subjects under more naturalistic assessment conditions. Forty-five low-and 45 high-assertive undergraduate, Caucasian females interacted with a female confederate who displayed unassertive, assertive, or empathic-assertive behaviors in the context of conflict resolution. Subsequent to the interactions, the Interpersonal Evaluation Inventory, the Interpersonal Judgment Scale, and a postexperimental questionnaire assessed the subjects' perceptions of the confederate's behavior and other aspects of the study. The results suggest that in a live conflict situation, assertiveness is regarded less favorably on some dimensions of interpersonal attraction than is unassertiveness. Also, low-assertive subjects experienced more anxiety and personal sacrifice during their interaction with the confederate than did high-assertive subjects. High-and low-assertive individuals did not differ in their compliance with assertive requests, thus calling into question the behavioral validity of the Assertion Inventory. Finally, the implications of these results for research and training are discussed.

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