Eighteen conversations between patients and nurses or physicians were videotaped to examine patterns that the interactants followed to maintain dominant or recessive roles. Physicians/nurses were viewed as the dominant interactants because of their greater control in the hospital setting whereas patients were viewed as the recessive interactants…

The purpose of this study was to identify relations between nurses' interaction styles and patient care interventions (PCI) that occurred after nurse-doctor interactions. A nonparticipant observer recorded interactions of 48 female registered nurses with physicians. Transcripts were coded and assigned to one of five theoretical nurse interaction…

A study examined some of the questions that have been raised regarding D. A. Infante and A. S. Rancer's (1982) Argumentativeness Scale. Specifically, the wording of the scale was examined. Operating under the principle that the use of the process word "arguing" and the product word "argument," as well as mention of issues or…

Results from a previous experiment relating sex role typing to verbal nonassertiveness are reviewed in this paper in light of other findings in the sex role literature. The first conclusion offered by the review suggests that, with respect to speech behavior, the expected correspondence between androgynous behavior and sex role typing requires…

A review of communication research was conducted to (1) describe and clarify the nature of empathy, (2) investigate the construct of assertiveness, (3) posit a possible relationship between empathy and assertiveness, and (4) provide possible suggestions for future research. The literature indicates that conceptualizations of empathy primarily…

This study was conducted to compare the social style of Japanese and Americans. Participants included 241 Japanese students from Otsuma Women's University and Nihon University (Tokyo, Japan) and 252 American students from West Virginia University (United States). Each completed the Richmond-McCroskey Assertiveness-Responsiveness Measure (which…

Three methods of data collection (nomination technique, survey instruments, and interviews) were used in a study that examined the way power was perceived by men and women in an organization and how women acquired and manifested power in a male-dominated organization. A total of 86 teachers and administrators were interviewed with the following…

Observing that many of the women in an acting class were having more difficulty than the men with some physical exercises requiring strong use of the arms (labeled nonassertive arm movement behavior), a teacher educator researched the psychological and physiological reasons behind this behavior pattern. The search revealed numerous studies showing…

Interpersonal communication can be viewed in terms of an aggressive-nonaggressive continuum. Past research has often focused on nonaggressive forms of interpersonal communication, such as understanding how people get to know one another, how trust and intimacy develop, and the role of self-disclosure in relationship development. However,…

In light of cultural stereotypes in which Black women function as strong heads of households while Hispanic women serve as obedient wives, a study examined whether Black and Hispanic subjects evaluated assertive speech differently when attributed to a male or female speaker. Subjects, 75 Blacks and 100 Hispanics, all undergraduate students…

A study was undertaken to determine the relationship between assertiveness and communication apprehension by examining common factors that exist between the items on the Rathus Assertiveness Schedule and the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension. The two instruments were administered to students at a large midwestern university. Responses…

Sixty undergraduate women interacted in dyads with female experimental confederates in a study of the interactive effects of social attributions and environmental controllability on interpersonal assertion. The environment was systematically varied on two dimensions of social power or control: (1) social responsiveness of the confederate, and (2)…

A study investigated the relationship between social style and a number of dimensions of person perception and interpersonal attraction. Social style was defined as a two-dimensional construct of assertiveness and responsiveness, which combined to reflect four social styles. Five hypotheses predicted that differences in social style would result…

A study involving 215 college students was undertaken to determine the relationship between assertiveness and communication apprehension by factor analyzing the items on the Rathus Assertiveness Schedule (RAS) and on the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA). Six factors emerged from the analysis: apprehensive about speaking,…

Despite the increase in the number of women entering the work force, the organizational setting is not typically conducive to upward mobility for most women. According to a variety of research studies, the impact of sex role stereotyping clearly suggests a set of communication behaviors appropriate for male managers and a different set appropriate…