ABSTRACT
Lange and Jakubowski state that ‘Assertion involves standing up for personal rights and expressing thoughts, feelings and beliefs in direct, honest, and appropriate ways which respect the rights of other people’. Passive behaviour is also described by some writers as ‘submissive’ or ‘non-assertive’ behaviour. Aggressive responses are the opposite of passive responses as they fail to consider the views or feelings of other individuals. The objective is to win, regardless of the other person. Those behaving aggressively will rarely show praise or appreciation of others and will put the other person down. Aggressive individuals tend to be viewed by others as intransigent, coercive, overbearing and lacking in control. The assertive person will use all their methods of nonverbal and verbal communication skills effectively and appropriately to ‘maintain self-respect, pursue happiness and the satisfaction of her needs, and defend her rights and personal space without abusing or dominating other people.
