A cross-cultural study of assertiveness with Chinese and American students

This study was designed to investigate cultural differences in self-reported assertiveness between Chinese and American college students. Additionally, it explored effects of sex, of the study of the English language, and of length of stay in the United States on Chinese subjects' perception of assertiveness, as measured by Rathus Assertiveness Schedule (RAS).;The survey was conducted in two countries, and a total of 419 students from Chinese and American universities participated. Four sample groups were formed: one monolingual group of Americans with various majors; one monolingual group of Chinese with all majors but English; one Chinese bilingual group of English majors in a Chinese university; and one Chinese bilingual group of graduates studying in American universities. A translation of the RAS was administrated to the Chinese monolingual group while the other three groups used the original RAS test. The data base was analyzed using four statistical methods: (1) two factor analysis of variance, (2) the Tukey multiple comparison test, (3) stepwise discriminant analysis, and (4) multivariate regression analysis. Both the total RAS scores and scores for individual RAS items were examined.;Results obtained were: (1) that overall Chinese had significantly lower RAS scores than Americans; (2) that Chinese tended to view themselves as being less assertive on items that seemed to challenge their Chinese values of reserve and harmony in relationship, but they reported either an identical amount of assertion, or greater assertiveness than Americans on items that appeared to post no such a challenge; (3) that the overall RAS scores did not reveal significant differences between Chinese majoring in English and Chinese with other majors; however, Chinese majoring in English reported themselves to be more assertive on items that reflected distinct American values of self, spontaneity, and openness of expression; (4) that males from both cultures tended to report more assertiveness than their respective female counterparts; (5) that Chinese studying in American universities were found to be the least assertive among the four groups surveyed, and that their residence in the U. S. was found to be negatively related to their self-reported assertiveness.;Findings were discussed and related to theory. Limitations were noted and suggestions for future research were made.