Presents three exercises that deal with issues in communication: (1) icebreaking techniques for seminar groups, including individual, pair, and small group formats; (2) a workshop that stresses cooperative groupwork, including competitive teams; and (3) a workshop that encourages assertiveness in learning situations and discusses submissiveness,…

Adults requesting career guidance at a counseling center completed a problem-checklist and the Identity, Information, and Barriers scales of the My Vocational Situation inventory. Respondents indicated a need for information on careers; lack of clarity regarding interests, talents, and goals; and worries about self-confidence, independence, and…

Provides a personal account of political advocacy in which parents of troubled students organized a successful grassroots movement to open a special school for their children in a residential area. Focuses on one parent's efforts to organize others and her repeated and successful experiences with the local media. (RJM)

The purpose of this paper is to propose the construct of "countersociopathy" and specific activities consumers can undertake in a variety of sales conditions and situations. These activities are not only designed to passively neutralize the telemarketer's or salesperson's aggressiveness, but can lead to the salesperson wanting to quickly…

A step-by-step model for training peer counselors forms the basis of the trainer's manual and accompanying exercises for trainees which are organized into two books for effective skill building. Designed for peer counseling trainees, this document presents the first of these two exercise books. The book begins with three very brief chapters which…

This feature issue newsletter looks at issues the self-advocacy movement is raising and the contributions it is making to the lives of people with developmental disabilities. Articles by self-advocates and advisors to self-advocacy organizations talk about their self-advocacy experiences, barriers to self-advocacy, and ways to support it. Primary…

Previous research has suggested that behavioral differences between shy and not shy persons may be explained by differences in inhibition rather than differences in interpersonal skills. To investigate the behavior of high and low social anxiety subjects in both ambiguous social situations and in explicitly structured ones, three studies using…

The purpose of the present investigation was (a) to examine the effect of two variables in developing assertive behavior using covert modeling and (b) to develop a technique to assess ongoing imagery during treatment. The results indicated that imagining multiple models or model reinforcement enhanced behavior change. (Author)

A multidimensional inventory was developed to assess competitiveness as the desire to approach and strive for success in sport situations. A 32-item inventory was administered in two separate studies to samples of male and female students enrolled in competitive and non-competitive skills classes (n=237 in Study 1; n=218 in Study 2). Factor…

This document is a group leader activity guide to accompany a sexual assault prevention program focusing on information for male teenagers. Background information, large group activities, comments for small group leaders, extension activities, activity sheets, and transparency masters are included for 15 group activities. These topics are covered…

The base-rate fallacy states that the use of stereotypes is eroded when subjects are given minimal but diagnostic, individuating information about a target. To examine the effect of causal attributions and subject gender on the use of stereotypes in evaluations and predictions, 180 college students (90 males, 90 females) were presented with one of…

This second paper in the intrapersonal skills series is concerned with belief systems and how individuals can manage self-esteem by internalizing assertion and awareness training program concepts. The introduction of the paper defines self-esteem and examines how individuals form their self-concepts. It is proposed that persons gather and…

Evaluates a microtraining approach for training situationally nonassertive clients in assertive expression. Procedure included individualized training situations and a test of generalization. Microtraining, regardless of feedback type, increased self-rated and objectively rated assertiveness, compared to an insight-oriented counseling control.…

In recent years the college dormitory has become a popular setting for examining chronic effects of crowding and high density in humans. Possible differences between corridor- and suite-type residents were investigated to examine the degree to which corridor- and suite-design dormitories influence assertive behavior of the residents. It was…

The effects of instructional variations during a role playing assessment on the assertive behavior of untrained, low assertive college students were investigated. Based on the responses of 1,392 students, 80 students who indicated a moderate to severe problem in refusing requests, and expressed interest in an assertion training workshop, were…