Career Guru India

Three types of individual behavior are listed.

1. Nonassertive behavior:
   The act of withdrawing from a situation. This is a passive approach to a situation (life), resulting in:
   
   • Denial of one's feelings/opinions
   • Allowing others to choose for you
   • Guilt, anger
   Examples of nonassertive language:
   
   • Oh, it's nothing.
   • Oh, that's all right; I didn't want it anymore.
   • Why don't you go ahead and do it; my ideas aren't very good anyway.
    
2. Aggressive behavior:
   The act of over reacting emotionally to a situation. Aggression can also take the form of a lie or a misrepresentation of the facts. This is a self-enhancing, egotistical approach to a situation (life) resulting in:
   
   • "Put down" feelings on the receiver's part
   • Not allowing others to choose for themselves, but choosing for them
   • Hostility, defensiveness on the aggressor's part and hurt, humiliation on the receiver's part
   Examples of aggressive language:
   
   • You are crazy!
   • Do it my way!
   • You make me sick!
   • That is just about enough out of you!
   • Others include sarcasm, name calling, threatening, blaming, insulting.
    
3. Assertive behavior:
   The act of declaring that this is what I am, what I think and feel, and what I want. This is a non-egotistical, active, rather than passive, approach to a situation (life) resulting in:
   
   • Open, direct self-expression of your thoughts and feelings
   • Allowing others to choose for themselves
   • Mutual satisfaction at achieving a desired goal
   Examples of assertive language:
   
   • I am Y
   • I think we should Y
   • I feel bad when Y
   • That seems unfair to me.
   • Can you help me with this?
   • I appreciate your help.