Response to interpersonal request styles by dependent and overcontrolled hostility personalities

Assessed self‐reported compliance, anger, and sympathy among two groups of Ss: One identified as dependent (N = 26) and the other high on overcontrolled hostility (N = 25). It was hypothesized that both groups of Ss would report higher levels of compliance than control Ss (N = 23). The 74 Ss read accounts of four different request styles (assertive, aggressive, passive aggressive, and submissive) and reported degrees of compliance, anger, and sympathy. Dependent and overcontrolled Ss were not more compliant, possibly because of the artificiality of the design. However, females responded to the assertive request with more anger and less sympathy than did males, which raises questions about sex differences in the judged appropriateness of the assertive style.