Abstract
This study tests the effectiveness of assertiveness training in increasing the level of women's participation in a small mixed-sex task-oriented discussion. Undergraduate women who met both self-descriptive and behavioral criteria for low activity participated with three active undergraduates in a pretest and posttest discussion, each with a different topic and with nonoverlapping group membership, as well as in either an experimental or a control intervention. Experimental subjects received behavioral training in assertiveness while functioning essentially as a fifth member of several tape-recorded discussions. Assertiveness training was successful, with experimental subjects differing from controls on dependent measures reflecting three independent sources of information: (a) the subject's own behavior, as coded by an experimental assistant; (b) pretest and postttest group members' perceptions of the subject's behavior; and (c) the subject's perceptions of her own behavior. These results are interpreted as consistent with the view that a lack of assertiveness in the presence of men — rather than any lack of substantive knowledge or conceptual skill — depresses women's participation in mixed-sex discussions.
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This article is based upon a doctoral dissertation by Hedva Lewittes, submitted to the School of Education, Stanford University. The research was supported, in part, by National Institute of Mental Health Grant R01-MH-21735 and, in part, by National Science Foundation Grant BNS-78-22637, both to Sandra L. Bem.
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Lewittes, H.J., Bem, S.L. Training women to be more assertive in mixed-sex task-oriented discussions. Sex Roles 9, 581–596 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00290066
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00290066