Tested the view that Asian Americans are nonassertive and the possibility that they display differential assertiveness depending on situational variables. To determine if race of the individual with whom they are interacting is an influencing variable on assertion in Asian Americans, 51 Chinese-American and 25 Caucasian undergraduate males were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 conditions: role playing a series of 13 situations requiring assertion with an Asian experimenter or role playing the same situations with a Caucasian experimenter. Ss also completed the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale, Fear of Negative Evaluation Questionnaire, and Rathus Assertiveness Schedule. Results indicate that Chinese-Americans were as assertive as Caucasians on all behavioral measures and that the race of experimenter was not an important variable in the performance of Asians. Consistent with previous studies, significant differences on self-report measures were obtained. Chinese-Americans were more likely to report anxiety in social situations, greater apprehension in evaluative situations, and lower assertiveness than Caucasians. (35 ref)
The notion that Chinese Americans, compared to Caucasian Americans, are passive and nonassertive was examined with self-report and behavioral measures. Chinese-Americans (n = 36) and Caucasian (n = 19) female college students were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: role-playing a series of 13 situations requiring assertion with an Asian experimenter or role-playing the same situations with a Caucasian experimenter. The Chinese-American students were as assertive as the Caucasian subjects on all behavioral measures. Only one self-report measure, the Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (Watson & Friend, 1968), revealed a significant difference between the two groups; Chinese-American students were more apprehensive about social situations than Caucasian students.
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