The behavior role-playing task (BRPT) has become a popular method of assessing assertive behavior. However, current research suggests that situational factors can affect the outcome of such assessments, independently of the subject's level of assertiveness. The present study investigated the effects of one such factor: the type of prompt delivered during the BRPT. It was hypothesized that subjects would respond more assertively to provocatively prompted scenes than to neutral scenes. Twenty nursing students were exposed to BRPTs involving both provocative and neutral role-player prompts. The results revealed that while provocative BRPTs generated significantly greater amounts of self-reported anger and anxiety than did the neutral BRPTs, there were no significant differences in response latency, duration, or assertive content between the two conditions.