Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-q6k6v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-13T20:15:12.272Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Assertiveness Training with Outpatients: The Effectiveness of Skill and Cognitive Procedures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 June 2009

Linda C. Hatzenbuehler
Affiliation:
Idaho State University, Pocatello, Idaho 83209, U.S.A.
Harold E. Schroeder
Affiliation:
Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242, U. S. A.

Extract

Forty-four community mental health outpatients participated in an assertiveness training program in which three treatment methods were compared. Skill training aimed at training specific assertive responses by means of instruction, modeling, behavioral rehearsal, feedback, and homework assignments. Cognitive training focused on altering the irrational cognitions which theoretically inhibit the expression of assertive responses. A third group (Cognitive–Skill) received both forms of training simultaneously, and a fourth group (Waiting List) was included as a control. A behavioral roleplaying test (B.R.P.T.) and the Social Fear Scale were administered prior to and immediately following four individual training sessions occurring at one week intervals for all three treatment groups. Analyses of covariance of assertive content ratings made by independent judges for B.R.P.T. responses revealed that all three treatment groups evidenced significantly more assertive and effective responses on both refusal and behavior change situations when compared to the Waiting List control. Analyses of paralinguistic dimensions of the B.R.P.T. revealed training generally to be more successful for the Skill group.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies 1982

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, T. W. (1958). An Introduction to Multivariate Analysis. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Alden, L., Safran, J. and Weideman, R. (1978). A comparison of cognitive and skills training strategies in the treatment of unassertive clients. Behavior Therapy, 9, 843846.Google Scholar
Bellack, A. S., Hersen, M. and Turner, S. M. (1976). Generalization effects of social skills training in chronic schizophrenics: An experimental analysis. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 14, 391398.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bloom, B. L. (1977). Community Mental Health: A General Introduction. Monterey, California: Brooks Cole.Google Scholar
Cook, S. W. (1975). Comments on ethical considerations in “Self-control techniques as an alternative to pain medication”. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 84, 169172.Google Scholar
Edelstein, B. and Eisler, R. M. (1976). Effects of modeling and modeling with instructions and feedback on the behavioral components of social skills of a schizophrenic. Behavior Therapy, 7, 382389.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eisler, R. M., Hersen, M. and Miller, P. M. (1973). Effects of modeling on components of assertive behavior. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 4, 16.Google Scholar
Field, G. D. and Test, M. A. (1975). Group assertiveness training for severely disturbed patients. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 6, 129134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Friedman, P. H. (1971). The effects of modeling and roleplaying on assertive behavior. In Advances in Behavior Therapy, Rubin, R. D., Fensterheim, H., Lazarus, A. A., and Franks, C. M. (Eds), New York: Academic Press, pp. 149169.Google Scholar
Gambrill, E. D. and Richey, C. A. (1975). An assertion inventory for use in assessment and research. Behavior Therapy, 6, 550561.Google Scholar
Goldsmith, J. G. and McFall, R. M. (1975). Development and evaluation of an interpersonal skill-training program for psychiatric inpatients. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 84, 5158.Google Scholar
Gormally, J., Hill, C., Otis, M. and Rainey, L. (1975). A microtraining approach to assertive training. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 22, 299303.Google Scholar
Hayman, P. M. and Cope, C. S. (1980). Effects of assertion training on depression. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 36, 534543.Google Scholar
Hersen, M. (1981). Complex problems require complex solutions. Behavior Therapy, 12, 1529.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hersen, M. and Bellack, A. S. (1976). A multiple-baseline analysis of social-skills training in chronic schizophrenics. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis 9, 239245.Google Scholar
Hersen, M., Eisler, R. M. and Miller, P. M. (1974). An experimental analysis of generalization in assertive training. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 12, 295310.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hersen, M., Eisler, R. M., Miller, P. M., Johnson, M. B. and Pinkston, S. C. (1973). Effects of practice, instructions, and modeling on components of assertive behavior. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 11, 443451.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kazdin, A. E. (1974). Effects of covert modeling and model reinforcement on assertive behavior. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 83, 240252.Google Scholar
Kazdin, A. E. (1976). Effects of covert modeling, multiple models, and model reinforcement on assertive behavior. Behavior Therapy, 7, 211222.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelly, J. A., Frederiksen, L. W., Fitts, H. and Phillips, J. (1978). Training and generalization of commendatory assertiveness: A controlled single subject experiment. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 9, 1721.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lange, A. J. and Jakubowski, P. (1976). Responsible Assertive Behavior: Cognitive Behavioral Procedures for Trainers. Champaign, Illinois: Research Press.Google Scholar
Lazarus, A. and Fay, A. (1975). I Can If I Want To. New York: William Morrow Co.Google Scholar
Linehan, M. M., Goldfried, M. R. and Goldfried, A. P. (1979). Assertion therapy; Skill training or cognitive restructuring. Behavior Therapy, 10, 372388.Google Scholar
Marziller, J. S. and Winter, K. (1978). Success and failure in social skills training: Individual differences. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 16, 6784.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McFall, R. M. and Lillisand, D. B. (1971). Behavior rehearsal with modeling and coaching in assertive training. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 77, 313323.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McFall, R. M. and Marston, A. R. (1970). An experimental analysis of behavior rehearsal in assertive training. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 76, 295303.Google Scholar
McFall, R. M. and Twentyman, C. T. (1973). Four experiments on the relative contributions of rehearsal, modeling, and coaching to assertion training. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 81, 199218.Google Scholar
Meichenbaum, D. H. (1973). Cognitive factors in behavior modification: Modifying what clients say to themselves. In Annual Review of Behavior Therapy, Theory, and Practice, Franks, C. M. and Wilson, G. T. (Eds), New York: Brunner/Mazel, pp. 416431.Google Scholar
Meichenbaum, D. H. and Cameron, R. (1974). The clinical potential of modifying what clients say to themselves. In Self-control: Power to the Person. Thoreson, C. and Mahoney, M. (Eds), New York: Brooks Cole, pp. 263290.Google Scholar
Melnick, J. and Stocker, R. B. (1977). An experimental analysis of the behavioral rehearsal with feedback technique in assertiveness training. Behavior Therapy, 8, 222228.Google Scholar
Morgan, W. G. (1974). The relationship between expressed social fears and assertiveness and its treatment implications. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 12, 255257.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Percell, C. P., Berwick, P. T. and Beigel, A. (1974). The effects of assertive training on self-concept and anxiety. Archives of General Psychiatry, 31, 502504.Google Scholar
Rathus, S. A. (1973). Instigation of assertive behaviors through videotape-mediated assertive models and direct practice. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 11, 5765.Google Scholar
Rimm, D. C., Snyder, J. J., Depue, R. A., Haanstad, M. J. and Armstrong, D. P. (1976). Assertive training vs. rehearsal, and the importance of making an assertive response. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 14, 315321.Google Scholar
Schwartz, R. and Gottman, J. (1976). Toward a task analysis of assertive behavior. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 44, 910920.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, R. and Sarason, I. (1975). Social anxiety and the evaluation of negative interpersonal feedback. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 43, 429.Google Scholar
Turner, S. M. (1977). Multivariate assessment of therapy outcome research. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 9, 309314.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Twentyman, C., Pharr, D. R. and Conner, J. M. (1980). A comparison of three covert assertion training procedures. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 36, 520525.Google Scholar
Wolpe, J. and Lang, P. J. (1964). A fear survey schedule for use in behavior therapy. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 2, 2730.Google Scholar
Young, E. R., Rimm, D. C. and Kennedy, T. D. (1973). An experimental investigation of modeling and verbal reinforcement in the modification of assertive behavior. Behaviour Research and Therapy 11, 317319.Google Scholar
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.