The purpose of this study is to analyze images of the term, equality in assertiveness. A survey was conducted to assertiveness trainers, and the results were compared with those of university students, who had little knowledge about assertiveness. Also comparisons were made among different levels of trainers in order to examine the changes in the images of equality while learning and lecturing assertiveness. The results shows that trainers had images of more familiar, warmer, brighter and more

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... ositive toward the term, equality than did students. Also the associated words with equality given by trainers were quite different from those given by students in several points. Second, compared to the students, trainers seemed to perceive that achieving equal relationships would not be easy but possible in everyday life, and this image was more salient in more advanced trainers, who had been more involved in assertiveness. Finally, nevertheless, the most advanced trainers seemed to have rather complex images about equality. The implications of these results were discussed.