Assertive vs Aggressive – Difference and Comparison

What is to be Assertive?

Assertive behavior is a way of communicating to others that you have a right to have your own needs and opinions respected. Assertiveness is not the same as aggression.

Assertiveness involves standing up for yourself in an appropriate manner without attacking or hurting others, for example, by saying “No!” before someone else does it for you.

The above is an important skill in both personal and professional settings. Assertive people can stand up for themselves without being aggressive, which can help them to achieve their goals.

They are able to say “No!” and they won’t feel the need to attack or hurt others in order to defend themselves. Assertive people are confident and stand up for themselves in a calm, respectful way. They don’t use intimidation tactics to get what they want from others.

Assertive behavior is not intended to intimidate or scare people. An assertive person will have a clear goal in mind and will state their opinion without being overly forceful.

What is to be Aggressive?

Aggressive behavior is a way of communicating to others that you are going to force them to do something or respect your needs and opinions. This type of behavior displays hostility and creates a sense of intimidation among those who experience it.

It may also be used as a form of self-defense by the perpetrator to gain control of the victim. This type of behavior, also known as “hostile aggression,” can be a form of bullying, or it may be used as a self-defense mechanism by the perpetrator.

The definition (source) found on Psych Central is: “Aggression is any action taken by one person against another that violates their rights and causes harm or distress.”

Aggression can include actions like making threats, shouting, or name-calling. Aggressive behavior can also be physical, such as hitting or kicking.

This kind of behavior is a way to intimidate and scare people. Perpetrators of such behavior use verbal or physical aggression, or both. Aggressive people are looking for a fight.

Aggressive behavior is more likely to be caused by low self-esteem, low frustration tolerance, and/or poor impulse control. It can also be caused by overly high self-esteem, high frustration tolerance, and/or lack of good impulse control.

Difference Between Assertive and Aggressive

Assertiveness is the ability to express oneself without going overboard. There are many tips and tricks to becoming more assertive. Here are some examples. You can: – Speak up for yourself instead of waiting for others to speak for you. Look directly at the person or thing you are speaking to.

Aggressiveness is the use of force or violence to achieve one’s goals. It can be used in a personal or professional setting, and it can be physical or verbal. Aggressive people may use bullying tactics, threats, and other forms of intimidation in order to get what they want.

Comparison Between Assertive and Aggressive

Parameter of ComparisonAssertiveAggressive
ForceDoes not use force.Such a person uses force to reach their objectives.
RespectHas respect for others and their opinions.Does not show respect to anyone.
ResultsThere are positive results at the end of the discussion.The results of such episodes are almost always negative.
HostilityIs not hostile.He shows hostility to intimidate others to do his bidding.
Winning  He wants others to understand their point of view so he can win in peaceful ways.He wants to win no matter what happens or what method he uses.

References

  1. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00156464
  2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6997833/