Assertiveness

Training

By Guntaas, Sreya and Saara

Introduction
● Assertiveness Training is a form of Behaviour Therapy designed to help people
stand up for themselves -to empower themselves in more contemporary terms .
● Corey (2009) explained that “assertiveness training is based on the principle of
social learning theory and incorporates many social skills training methods. He
explained further that the training is often conducted in groups using modeling,
role-play and rehearsal to practice a new behaviour in the therapy session and
then enacted in everyday life. “
● Assertiveness training programme, the tool in hand, is designed to improve an
individual's assertive beliefs and behaviours, which can help the individual change,
how they view themselves and establish self-confidence and alleviate social
anxiety (Wesley & Mattaini, 2008).
History
● Assertion Training (AT) has a long history. As early as 1949, Andrew Salter in
Conditioned Reflex Therapy described an early form of assertion training (Lange &
Jacubowski, 1976). Wolpe (1958) and Lazarus (1971) were the other behaviour
therapists who more clearly differentiated assertion from aggression and used
various role play procedures as part of their assertion training.
● Assertion training programmes became popular mainly after 1970s as a means of
increasing personal effectiveness and improving interpersonal relationships
(Nadim, 1995).
● Assertiveness training has a decades long history in mental health and personal
growth groups,going back to the Women’s Movement of the 1970s.The approach
was introduced to encourage women to stand up for themselves appropriately in
their interactions with others ,particularly as they moved into graduate education
and the workplace in greater numbers
Continued

● The original association of assertiveness training with the Women’s Movement in

the united states grew out of the discovery of many women in the movement that
they were hampered by their inability to be assertive .
● Today ,assertiveness training is used as a part of communication training in
settings as diverse as schools ,corporate boardrooms and psychiatric hospitals ,for
programs as varied as substance abuse treatment ,social skills training ,vocational
programs ,and responding to harassment .
Goals

Two major goals are :

1. One goal of Assertion TRaining is to increase peoples behavioural repertoire so

that they can make the choice of whether to behave assertively in certain
situations .
2. Another goal is to teaching people to express themselves in ways that reflect
sensitivity to the feelings and rights of others .

Assertiveness training promotes the use of I statements as a way to help individuals

express their feelings and reactions to others.
Assertive, Non-Assertive and Aggressive
What is assertiveness?

● Assertiveness is expressing our thoughts, feelings, and beliefs in a direct, honest,

and appropriate way.
● It means that we have respect both for ourselves and for others.
● Being assertive is not about being pushy or superior. It's about communicating
what you want in a clear, level-headed manner.

Non-assertiveness or Passive

● A non-assertive person is one who is often taken advantage of, feels helpless, takes
on everyone’s problems, says yes to inappropriate demands and thoughtless
requests, and allow others to choose for him or her.
 Continuation….

● The non-assertive person is emotionally dishonest, indirect, self-denying, and

inhibited.

Aggressiveness

● Aggressiveness involves expressing our thoughts, feelings, and beliefs in a way that
is inappropriate and violates the rights of others.
● It can be either active or passive, but no matter which, it communicates an
impression of disrespect.
● By being aggressive, we put our wants, needs, and rights above those of others.

Situation: You are watching TV, when your elder brother comes and switches to another
channel without asking. What would you say or do?
Contd...

1) You leap up, yell abuse at your brother and change the channel back.
2) You say nothing or do nothing.
3) You tell your brother that you are watching a programme that you really want to see and
find out how important the other programme is to your brother.
 Types of Assertive Behaviors

1) ASKING FOR WHAT YOU ARE ENTITLED TO

Eg: Correcting the mistake when you receive incorrect change

2) STANDING UP FOR YOUR RIGHTS

Eg: Objecting when a person steps ahead of you in line

3) REFUSING UNREASONABLE OR INAPPROPRIATE REQUESTS

Eg: Saying no when a friend asks to borrow money you can’t spare

4) EXPRESSING OPINIONS AND FEELINGS (EVEN WHEN THEY ARE UNPOPULAR OR

NEGATIVE)

Eg: Voicing your conservative views in a group of liberals

5) EXPRESSING DESIRES AND REQUESTS

Eg: Telling your sexual partner what you enjoy

Steps Involved in Assertiveness Training

1. Information gathering - Participants are asked to think about and list the areas in
their life in which they have difficulty asserting themselves. Very often they will
notice specific situations or patterns of behavior that they want to focus on during
the course.
2. Test out new behaviour - The next stage in assertive training is usually role-plays
designed to help participants practice clearer and more direct forms of
communicating with others. The role-plays allow for practice and repetition of the
new techniques, helping each person learn assertive responses by acting on
them.
3. Feedback looping - Feedback is provided to improve the response, and the role-
play is repeated.
4. Generalising and application - Client is asked to practice assertive techniques in
everyday life, outside the training setting.
Techniques
Techniques

1. Broken Record : The "broken record" technique consists of simply repeating your
requests or your refusals every time you are met with resistance. A
disadvantage with this technique is that when resistance continues, your
requests may lose power every time you have to repeat them. If the requests are
repeated too often, it can backfire on the authority of your words. In these cases,
it is necessary to have some sanctions on hand.
2. Fogging: Fogging consists of finding some limited truth to agree with in what an
antagonist is saying. More specifically, one can agree in part or agree in
principle.
3. Negative Inquiry: Negative inquiry consists of requesting further, more specific
criticism.
Continuation…..

4. Positive Inquiry: It is a technique to handle positive compliments.

5. Negative Assertion: Negative assertion is agreement with criticism received but the
style of communicating is such that it is made clear that one accepts their self in spite
of the negative trait or behaviour.

6. I-Statements: I-statements can be used to voice one's feelings and wishes from a
personal position without expressing a judgment about the other person or blaming
BROKEN RECORD TECHNIQUE
● It employs the assertive skills of
“calm persistence”.
● Involves repeating what you
want repeatedly without raising
your voice or becoming angry.
EXAMPLE SITUATION
Customer - I bought these shoes last week and
the heels have fallen off. I would like a refund
please.
Salesman - It looks like they have been worn a
lot so we can’t refund the purchase.
Customer - I have only had them for a week and
they are faulty. I would like a refund please.
Salesman - “You can’t expect me to refund after
they have been worn out.
Customer - But it broke only a week after
purchase. I would like a refund please.
FOGGING TECHNIQUE
● Agreeing with any truth that may
be contained within statements,
yet you have the freedom to be
your own judge.
● Useful if people are behaving in a
manipulative or aggressive way.
One doesn’t get defensive if
using this technique.
EXAMPLE SITUATION
Alice - What time do you call this? You are nearly
half an hour late! I’m tired of this.
John - Yes, I am later than I hoped to be and I can
see that it has upset you.
Alice - I have been waiting for ages!
John - Yes, I was concerned that you would be
left waiting.
Alice - Well… Why were you late?
NEGATIVE INQUIRY SITUATION EXAMPLE

● Used to find out more about Rachel - That meal was practically inedible! I
critical comments can’t remember the last time I ate something so
awful!

Monica - It wasn’t the best. What exactly didn’t

you like about it?
POSITIVE INQUIRY
● Especially used in cases for
people with low self esteem who
may feel that positive comments
are not justified.
SITUATION EXAMPLE
Rachel - You made an excellent meal tonight. It
was so delicious!
Monica - Thank you. Yes it was good. What did
you like about it in particular?
NEGATIVE ASSERTION
● When you accept yourself as you
are, it is difficult for others to
manipulate you through criticism
of your negative traits.
SITUATION EXAMPLE
Joey - You hurt my feelings when you ignored
me at the party.
Chandler - You’re right. I got too caught up in
my conversation with Monica. I regret doing
that.
“I” STATEMENTS
● Put forth one’s perspective in
such a way that it comes off as
less attacking or direct.
SITUATION EXAMPLE
Joey - You hurt my feelings when you ignored
me at the party! How could you?
Alternative - I felt hurt when I didn’t get to
spend more time with you at the party.
Application
Differently abled population

● Has proven useful in increasing perceived social efficacy and interpersonal skill of
differently abled individuals (Glueckauf & Quittner, 1992)

Helping occupations

● Increased assertiveness and self esteem and decreased levels of stress in nursing
and medical students (Lin et al, 2004)

Schools

● Linked with decreased anxiety, stress and depression, and increased self esteem in
high school students (Eslami et al, 2016)
● Effective in preventing peer pressure or bullying (Avsar, 2017)
Strengths

Assertiveness training can help in the following ways:

● Helps one to become self confident

● Increases self esteem

● Improves communication skills

● Facilitates honesty in relationships.

● Understand and recognise feelings

Limitations

● Individuals from collectivist cultures may find it difficult to be assertive.

● Confusion can arise if one does not fully understand the difference between assertion

and aggression.

● Individuals can face difficulty in generalising the learning made in sessions to real life

situations.

● Inaccurate appraisals of situations may cause an individual to set unrealistic goals for self

and/or get assertive in extreme situations.

References
● Assertiveness training -Children,therapy ,examples ,person ,people,used skills,women,(1019).Retrieved 1 November
2019,from http://www.minddisorders.com/A-Br/Assertiveness-Training.html.
● Assertiveness training. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.minddisorders.com/A-Br/Assertiveness-training.html.
● Avşar, F., & Alkaya, S. A. (2017). The effectiveness of assertiveness training for school-aged children on bullying and
assertiveness level. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 36, 186–190. doi: 10.1016/j.pedn.2017.06.020
● Corey, G. (2017). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy.
● D. Michael, Speigler. Contemporary Behavior Therapy(2010), 5th edition.
● Eslami, A. A., Rabiei, L., Afzali, S. M., Hamidizadeh, S., & Masoudi, R. (2016). The Effectiveness of Assertiveness
Training on the Levels of Stress, Anxiety, and Depression of High School Students. Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal,
18(1). doi: 10.5812/ircmj.21096
● Lin, Y.-R., Shiah, I.-S., Chang, Y.-C., Lai, T.-J., Wang, K.-Y., & Chou, K.-R. (2004). Evaluation of an assertiveness training
program on nursing and medical students’ assertiveness, self-esteem, and interpersonal communication satisfaction. Nurse
Education Today, 24(8), 656–665. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2004.09.004
● Glueckauf, R. L., & Quittner, A. L. (1992). Assertiveness training for disabled adults in wheelchairs: Self-report, role-play, and
activity pattern outcomes. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 60(3), 419-425.