Two studies were designed to test the hypothesis that the severity of an anticipated negative consequence deters women's assertiveness more than the probability of an anticipated consequence. The first study, involving a 2 x 2 factorial design, manipulated two levels of anticipated severity (low versus high) and two levels of anticipated probability (low versus high). The type of response studied involved the refusal of an unreasonable request. Female undergraduate psychology students (N = 198) were randomly assigned to view one of four videotapes reflecting these conditions. After viewing the videotapes, participants were asked to rate their intentions to act assertively (BI) and to rate other variables which could potentially be coeffects or mediators of BI (e.g., anxiety, competence). In study 2, 151 female psychology students completed a survey in which they were required to imagine their own anticipated negative consequences, severities, and probabilities for five vignettes involving the refusal of an unreasonable request. Participants in study 2 completed questions about similar variables to study 1. Personality variables, including social desirability, assertiveness (for studies 1 and 2), and anxiety (for study 2) were measured to see if they moderated the results. Path models showed that in all cases, severity and probability affected BI, either directly or indirectly through distress/low self-efficacy or unfairness/need for support. The hypothesis was mostly confirmed in that in almost all cases, severity contributed more variance to BI than did probability. All personality factors moderated the results some of the time. Support was found for both the rational choice and cognitive distortion models of assertiveness. The results were discussed in reference to Beck et al.'s (1985) theory of social anxiety and implications for assertiveness training.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uottawa.ca/oai:ruor.uottawa.ca:10393/7522 |
| Date | January 1993 |
| Creators | Andrews, Dorothy Lynn. |
| Contributors | McCarrey, M., |
| Publisher | University of Ottawa (Canada) |
| Source Sets | Université d’Ottawa |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 378 p. |
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