On the decision to be assertive.

This study examines the applicability of an Expectancy/Decision model to assertiveness in a non-clinical population. Assertiveness has been researched extensively from the viewpoint of behavior theory which prescribes anxiety reduction and skill acquisition for the training of assertive behaviors. However, little has been done to investigate the reasons why assertive behavior might occur in one situation and not in another. The results of this study suggest that participants, irrespective of their scores on standard measures of assertiveness and an anxiety, consider the consequences of being assertive when making a decision about how to behave. Results imply that training programs should take into account the participant's perceptions of the risks involved in being assertive and that the focus should be on changing these perceptions rather than an attempting to change his or her values for focusing solely on specific assertive behaviors. Because assertiveness training has focused particularly on women and because women are playing an increasingly important role in the armed forces, this line of research is of special pertinence.