An Examination of the Relationship Among
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
AN EXAMINATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP AMONG ASSERTIVENESS, MANIFEST ANXIETY, AND SELF-ESTEEM Roger N. Conaway A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY August 1978 Approved by Doctoral Committee Adv i sor Department of Interpersonal and *Public Communication IO- © 1978 ROGER NI ON CONAWAY ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 11 ABSTRACT Assertive communication is concerned with individuals learning cognitive, behavioral, and affective procedures for improving their interpersonal effectiveness. Training in assertive communication is required for persons who are deficient in the ability to say no, ask for favors and make requests, to express positive and negative feelings, or who experience unadaptive anxiety responses which hinder their effective interpersonal expression. To further explicate the theoretical nature of the assertiveness construct, two basic correlates to assertiveness were examined: anxiety and self-esteem. Anxiety, self-esteem, and assertiveness were correlated to determine the nature and strength of the relationships existing among the three constructs. Students in a mid-western university (N=223) were administered a questionnaire booklet containing a self-report measure of anxiety, two self-report measures of self-esteem, and three self-report measures of assertiveness. It was hypothesized that composite scores on the three measures of assertiveness would positively correlate with composite scores on the measures of self-esteem and negatively correlate with a composite score on the measure of anxiety. It was also hypothesized that the anxiety scores and self-esteem scores would negatively correlate. Canonical correlational analysis was used to examine thé relation ship among the six dependent variables. The three assertiveness variables were included in Set 1 and the anxiety and self-esteem variables were included in Set 2. Results clearly supported hypotheses at a signifi cance level of £ < .0001 on Root 1. Roots 2 and 3 were not significant. Sex differences were also indicated by discriminant analysis on the six dependent variables. A major contribution of this study was seen in establishing a closeness between effective interpersonal expression and feelings in self. Future research based on the results of the present study was also discussed. ni ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The completion of the Ph.D. program at BGSU has been referred to in the past as close to a religious experience. Though the analogy may be extended in detail to a Messiah (in the Department of Interpersonal and Public Communication) and his disciples (those graduate students in awe about his doorway), the intensity and impressions in the program are indeed real and sincere. My sincerest and deepest thanks go to Raymond K. Tucker, dissertation advisor and personal friend. His personal assistance and guidance made the successful completion of the entire program possible. Thanks, Ray. Jim Wilcox and Don Enholm deserve special thanks for their time and effort spent reading and commenting on the dissertation manuscript. Thanks go to John Hiltner for his part on the dissertation committee as graduate representive. Many thanks to others not listed here for their assistance in the research and giving of time. The real hero is my wife, who was typist, not only for the disser tation, but for the many papers and projects.throughout the program. May I continue to return appreciation and love. IV TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................. 1 Statement of the problem ........................................................... 2 Anxiety ........................................................................................... 4 Self-esteem ................................................................................... 7 Relevant research ....................................................................... 11 Statement of hypotheses ........................................................... 17 METHODOLOGY............................................................................................... 18 Design of the study................................................................... 18 Description of dependent variables ........................................ 18 Procedure....................................................................................... 24 Subjects............................................................................... 24 Statistical analysis ....................................................... 25 RESULTS...................................................................................................... 27 DISCUSSION.................................................................................. 40 Sex differences........................................................................... 42 REFERENCES.............................................................................................. 52 APPENDICES.............................................................................................. 56 V LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1 A Summary of Various Findings and Methodological Limitations of Studies Conflicting with Theoretical Contentions ................................................................... 16 Table 2 Results of Canonical Correlation Analysis ................................ 28 Table 3 Mean, Standard Deviation, Minimum and Maximum Scores on Entire Sample (N-223) on Each Dependent Variable ........................................................................... 31 Table 4 Mean, Standard Deviation, Minimum and Maximum Scores for Males (N=103) on Each Dependent Variable and Age.................................................................................................. 32 Table 5 Mean, Standard Deviation, Minimum and Maximum Scores for Females (N=115) on Each Dependent Variable and Age............................................................................... 33 Table 6 Results of the Discriminant Analysis on Sex on the Six Dependent Variables................................................... 34 Table 7 Results of the Discriminant Analysis on Sex on the Six Dependent Variables--Standardized Discriminant Function Coefficients for Each Dependent Variable ........................................................................... 35 Table 8 Results of the Four Group Discriminant Analysis on Age on the Six Dependent Variables........................................... 37 Table 9 Number of Subjects (N), Means, and Standard Deviations of Four Age Groups on the Six Dependent Variables ....................................................................... 39 LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1 Discriminant analysis on sex group centroids on Function 1 plotted in discriminant space .................................... 36 Figure 2 A graphic representation of established empirical relationships among assertiveness, anxiety, and self-esteem ........................................................................................... 48 AN EXAMINATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP AMONG ASSERTIVENESS, MANIFEST ANXIETY, AND SELF-ESTEEM Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION The subject of assertiveness is currently receiving much attention in public and professional circles. Approximately 85 per cent of the extensive existing literature in professional journals on assertiveness has appeared within the last six years (Lange & Jakubowski, 1976). Assertive training workshops have mushroomed across the nation as inter est continues in seeking ways of reducing interpersonal communication barriers such as anger, anxiety, and low self-esteem. Assertive communication is concerned with individuals learning cognitive, behavioral, and affective procedures for improving their interpersonal effectiveness (Lange & Jakubowski, 1976). Training in assertive communication is required for persons who are deficient in the ability to say no, ask for favors and make requests, express positive and negative feelings, or who experience unadaptive anxiety responses in interpersonal expression "that prevent them from saying or doing what is reasonable or right" (Wolpe, 1973, p. 6]). Assertive training has been found to be an effective method in reducing anxiety when communicating and for improving interpersonal skills. Wolpe (1958, 1973) contends that assertive communication is incompatible with an unadaptive anxiety response. An assertive response 1 2 refers to the socially acceptable outward expression of nearly all feelings other than anxiety, placing anxiety as a fundamental theore tical notion regarding the assertiveness construct (Wolpe, 1973). Alberti and Emmons (1974) note a second fundamental correlate to assertiveness: the relationship between assertive communication and feelings of self-esteem: When a person becomes more able to stand up for himself and do things on his own initiative, he reduces appreciably his former anxiety or tenseness in key situations, and increases his sense of worth as a person. This same sense of worth is often lacking in the aggressive, whose aggressiveness may mask self-doubts and guilt (p.3). They suggest that the assertive individual feels confident and is fully in charge of himself in interpersonal relationships. A non- assertive individual, who is anxious or otherwise dysfunctional and does not generally succeed in interpersonal expression, will experience less of a feeling of confidence and personal worth. Statement