Examined type of situation and sex of the counselor in assertive training. Female subjects were given training in making complaints, small talk, and saying no to unreasonable requests. Significant improvement occurred. Subjects seen by a male counselor changed significantly more than subjects seen by a female counselor. (Author)

This study investigates the power of the sex-role social norm in determining dominance: is dominance determined by personality "type" (from Myers-Briggs) or by the sex-role expectation? Thinking (T) and feeling (F) types were paired, including all possible combinations of sex and T-F. Thirty-two dyads, 16 opposite sex and 16 same sex,…

Each of 76 unacquainted pairs of male-female college students was given a popular issue to discuss for five minutes. Self-perceived agency was significantly associated with verbal assertiveness: high-agency persons used fewer indirect statements and fewer passive self-references than low-agency persons. (Author/LHW)

A study examined two factors thought to affect an individual's preference for confrontation or avoidance strategies when ending a relationship--communicator age and sex role orientation. Subjects were 29 fifth grade students, 64 high school sophomores, 43 college students, and 37 adults enrolled in a night class. All subjects read a scenario from…

A pilot experiment aimed at discovering sex-specific language patterns as exhibited by males and females in conversation with same-sex and other-sex partners falsified the hypothesis frequently stated in the literature that males hold the dominant role in mixed-sex verbal interaction, at least in regard to college students. Twelve dyadic…