When assertation is not enough :

Abstract

This study did not provide support for the hypothesis that participation in an assertion training program with an aggression component would lead to higher scores on the Adult Self Expression Scale, a widely-used paper and pencil measure of assertiveness, than would participation in a traditional assertion training program. Nor did it provide support for the hypothesis that participation in the Assertion with Aggression group would more effectively teach subjects to correctly identify and label the kinds of responses they make than would a traditional program. Compared to the control group, the experimental group did, however, label more of their Verbatim Responses as aggressive, which indicates some sensitization to the concept of aggressiveness as well as self-permission to use it. One wonders whether those subjects who increased their use of the Aggressive Label and Aggressive Verbatim Responses began the study as assertive individuals and simply escalated, or if they went from a passive extreme to an aggressive extreme. Both are common phenomena in this kind of training. Unfortunately, data to investigate this possibility would be difficult to obtain for such heterogeneous subjects. Further research might be conducted with volunteers for assertion training who all begin as passive to ascertain movement along the passive to aggressive continuum.