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, high-and 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.

A Cognitive Perspective for Understanding and Training Assertiveness

“…This kind of affirmations is a way of valuing others and their particular perspectives on any event, by expressing ones' point of view as only a subjective standing on a factual event and actively enquiring and listening to the perspective of others. A willingness to reach a cooperative, This latency time is increased in individuals with lower levels of assertiveness, particularly when the situation requires negative assertion (Eisler et al, 1975), leading them to possibly entirely miss the opportunity to express themselves (Collins, Powell, & Oliver, 2000).…”

“…Concordantly, Rakus' (1991, p. 16) definition of assertiveness highlights the importance of both the behavior and the social obligations it implies, by stating that: "Assertion (…) should be considered as a chain of overt and covert responses encompassing (personal) rights and their functionally related antecedent and subsequent responsibilities." Assertiveness requires partially independent response types, depending on social, developmental or situational circumstances; the individual may possess different skills on each type of these responses and find it hard to transfer skills from one situational context to another (Eisler, Hersen, Miller, & Blanchard, 1975;Rakus, 1991). These contexts represent different levels of threat to gaining social rewards, and so assertiveness is the "skill to seek, maintain, or enhance reinforcement in an interpersonal situation (…) when such expression risks loss of reinforcement or even punishment" (Rich & Schroeder, 1976, p. 1082.…”

“…This kind of affirmations is a way of valuing others and their particular perspectives on any event, by expressing ones' point of view as only a subjective standing on a factual event and actively enquiring and listening to the perspective of others. A willingness to reach a cooperative, This latency time is increased in individuals with lower levels of assertiveness, particularly when the situation requires negative assertion (Eisler et al, 1975), leading them to possibly entirely miss the opportunity to express themselves (Collins, Powell, & Oliver, 2000).Though the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral dimensions of assertiveness have been defined (although some more than others), little research has considered them simultaneously. A few examples include Alden and Safran (1978) study that found that individuals who endorsed high levels of irrational beliefs (e.g., I believe I should be competent at everything I attempt or I become more upset than I should about other people's problems and disturbances) performed less effectively on a behavioral role-play assertion measure.…”

“…In addition, Arrindell et al (1990) using various clinical and nonclinical samples found that the more the individual practices assertive behaviors, the less he/she feels nervous or anxious in interpersonal events where such behavior is enacted (Arrindell et al, 1990). Furthermore, Vagos and Pereira (2010), in trying to validate the construct of the Assertive Interpersonal Questionnaire, found that the more the individual endorses assertive cognitions, the more likely he/she will practice assertive behaviors 2 Eisler, Hersen, Miller and Blanchard (1975) found specific non-verbal behaviors to be differently associated to negative and positive assertion in psychiatric male patients. They also found that the expression of positive or negative assertion varied according to whether it was practiced toward female versus male and familiar versus unfamiliar counterparts.…”

Reinserção social de psicóticos: componentes verbais e não-verbais do comportamento assertivo, em situações de fazer e receber críticas

“…(Caballo, 1996;Del Prette & Del Prette, 1999;Gambril, 1978;Lange & Jakubowski, 1976). O comportamento assertivo inclui habilidades de lidar com situações sociais negativas, como por exemplo, recusar um pedido abusivo, e positivas, tais como agradecer ou fazer um elogio (Eisler, Hersen, Miller & Blanchard, 1975;Rathus, 1975) O comportamento assertivo é necessário em uma grande diversidade de situações sociais, sendo porém, particularmente importante naquelas situações cotidianas que envolvem conflitos interpessoais e que podem resultar em estresse para os pacientes psiquiátricos, uma vez que eles geralmente não dispõem de habilidades de enfrentamento para atuar satisfatoriamente nestas situações, o que constitui um fator de risco para recidivas destes pacientes (Cyr, Hodgins, Gaston & Viens, 1990;Zubin & Spring, 1977). Tendo em vista a vulnerabilidade particular dos pacientes psicóticos a situações estressantes (Zubin & Spring, 1977) e seu déficit de habilidades sociais e de comportamento assertivo (Bellack, Morrison, Mueser, Wade & Sayer, 1990), torna-se mais difícil o enfrentamento destas situações interpessoais problemáticas que ocorrem no dia-a-dia.…”