The relationship of self-talk frequency to communication apprehension and public speaking anxiety

This research examines how self-talk is related to the nature and prevalence of communication apprehension and public speaking anxiety. In Study 1, we examined the relationship between general communication apprehension (CA) and the frequency and nature of general self-talk. Results showed that higher CA scores were associated with more frequent self-critical self-talk than lower CA scores. In Study 2, we examined how self-talk pertaining to the preparation for an upcoming speech related to public speaking anxiety. Results showed that self-critical and social-assessing self-talk were positively related to people’s anxiety scores, whereas self-reinforcing self-talk was negatively associated with their anxiety. Implications of these results for the management of public speaking anxiety are discussed.     

Rethinking communication apprehension: a Myers-Briggs perspective

This study is an examination of relationships between Myers-Briggs personality type preferences, based on Jungian theory, and communication apprehension. Results showed that participants who preferred introversion or sensing reported significantly higher levels of communication apprehension in general and across the group, dyadic, meeting, and public contexts than did participants who preferred extraversion or intuition. In addition, participants who preferred feeling reported higher levels of communication anxiety in the public context than those who preferred thinking. Findings support the assumption that communication apprehension is biologically based, suggest that the Myers-Briggs type preference framework offers an alternative way of understanding communication apprehension, and point out the need for new approaches to understanding the phenomenon of communication apprehension.     

Rethinking Communication Apprehension: A Myers-Briggs Perspective

This study is an examination of relationships between Myers-Briggs personality type preferences, based on Jungian theory, and communication apprehension. Results showed that participants who preferred introversion or sensing reported significantly higher levels of communication apprehension in general and across the group, dyadic, meeting, and public contexts than did participants who preferred extraversion or intuition. In addition, participants who preferred feeling reported higher levels of communication anxiety in the public context than those who preferred thinking. Findings support the assumption that communication apprehension is biologically based, suggest that the Myers-Briggs type preference framework offers an alternative way of understanding communication apprehension, and point out the need for new approaches to understanding the phenomenon of communication apprehension.     

Expectations About Initial Interaction An Examination of the Effects of Global Uncertainty

This inquiry extended uncertainty reduction theory to include actors’ uncertainty about acquaintanceship in general (global uncertainty). Study 1 involved examination of the self-reports of 139 female and 85 male participants. Results of the analysis showed that participants high in global uncertainty define initial interaction in comparatively negative ways, more frequently attempt to avoid conversations with unfamiliar targets, perform less effectively when meeting others for the first time, and develop less satisfactory long-term relationships than persons low in global uncertainty. Global uncertainty also combined with participants’ sense of the self-assuredness-awkwardness of first encounters to predict initial interaction performance. Study 2 examined the conversational performance of 48 females and 28 males who had participated in the first investigation. This analysis revealed that, during the first minute of interaction, persons high in global uncertainty engaged in comparatively low levels of question asking but relatively high levels of disclosure. High globally uncertain participants were also rated less competent by their partners than were persons low in global uncertainty. Study 3 explored the relationship between global uncertainty, communication competence, and communication apprehension. Examination of the self-reports of 63 females and 49 males showed that persons high in global uncertainty are apprehensive when meeting strangers and enact acquaintanceship episodes relatively inexpertly, although the magnitude of correlations between the constructs provide strong evidence that global uncertainty is distinguishable from both competence and apprehension. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

THE EFFECTS OF COMMUNICATION APPREHENSION ON COMMUNICATION EFFECTIVENESS1

This study investigated the following hypothesis: physiological, psychological, and verbal behavior indices of communication apprehension can predict comprehension, perception of speaker credibility, and ratings of speech effectiveness. The stimulus materials were videotapes of the first minute of 85 different students expressing their views on women's liberation. Measurement on all the indices of communication apprehension had been taken on these students as the videotapes were being prepared. Each of these one-minute videotapes was shown to a single receiver who then filled out forms measuring comprehension, perception of source credibility, and rating of speech effectiveness. Results supported the hypothesis that the indices of communication apprehension could predict all the communication effects save one, perception of character. The strongest relationship between the set of communication apprehension variables and the set of communication effectiveness variables indicated that individuals who reported high apprehension experienced much silence in their speech and received low ratings on language facility, vocal characteristics, and general effectiveness.     

THE RHETORICAL INTERROGATIVE: ANXIETY OR CONTROL?

Anxiety and floor control perspectives on speech disturbances were related specifically to rhetorical interrogatives (you know, you see, and okay) and tested in an experimental condition. Communication apprehension and situational stress conditions produced conflicting theoretical predictions. Both anxiety and the perceived potential for interruption increased rhetorical interrogative ratios with no interaction effect; thus partial support was found for both theoretical positions. Neither theory emerged as a major contributor to explain variance in rhetorical interrogative ratios. Additional analysis indicated low/high communication apprehension differences in rhetorical interrogative ratios were primarily a function of the amount of talk.     

Loneliness and inducing incremental theories of social interactions to produce adaptive change

College students (n = 388) participated in a two‐part online study (a survey and an experiment) examining the role of implicit theories in the experience of loneliness. Survey results revealed that lonely people tend to endorse entity theories of social competence and friendship. Experimental results showed that inducing an incremental theory of social competence reduced communication apprehension and increased social engagement among individuals regardless of their levels of loneliness. Inducing an incremental theory of friendship increased social engagement but did not influence the level of communication apprehension or social avoidance. Overall, the results suggest that an incremental theory of social interactions can reduce thoughts that are not conducive to fostering social connections among people in general, including lonely ones.     

Interpersonal communication apprehension,topic avoidance,and the experience of irritable bowel syndrome

Through the lens of the theory of inhibition and confrontation ( Pennebaker, 1989 ), this study explored the relationships that interpersonal communication apprehension and topic avoidance in one's closest relationship share with the experience of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Specifically, an online survey that studied U.S. IBS‐diagnosed and non‐IBS subsamples examined person–partner communication apprehension, amount of overall topic avoidance, and reasons for topic avoidance in relation to four IBS experience variables. Communication apprehension displayed a particularly strong relationship with multiple aspects of the IBS experience, and a number of the communication avoidance variables varied according to IBS diagnosis. Implications for the theoretical understanding of interpersonal communication processes in the specific context of IBS and general chronic health conditions are discussed.     

The Correlations Between Parliamentary Debate Participation,Communication Competence,Communication Apprehension,Argumentativeness, and Willingness to Communicate in a Japanese Context

Studies focusing on debate as pedagogy have been gaining attention recently. However, most research has employed policy debate, which is a traditional debate style. Parliamentary debate, which is an impromptu debate style, has been recently gaining popularity worldwide. As minimal research exists on parliamentary debate as pedagogy, the present study examined the correlations between parliamentary debate participation, communication competence, communication apprehension, argumentativeness, and willingness to communicate. Moreover, this study aimed to investigate the unique characteristics of communication variables and correlations with the experience of participating in a parliamentary debate in a Japanese context, an area that interests many scholars. The results showed some differences in correlations between Japanese and United States samples, which was explained by analyzing a trait of Japanese culture that is characterized as highly contextual. Regarding the correlations between communication variables and parliamentary debate participation, significant differences were found for all variables except for communication competence, where less communication apprehension, more argument approach, less argument avoidance, and more willingness to communicate were observed compared to non-debaters. Finally, the study findings revealed that those with parliamentary debate experience obtained lower scores for communication apprehension and higher scores for argumentative approaches compared with those who did not have such experience; the effect sizes were smaller in women than men. These findings suggest that parliamentary debate participation is an effective way to foster communication variables.

     

COMMUNICATION APPREHENSION AND ACHIEVEMENT IN A PERFORMANCE-ORIENTED BASIC COMMUNICATION COURSE

The study of communication apprehension (CA) impact in the instructional environment is extended through examination of all three CA levels relative to various performance situations in a basic communication course. Results indicate significant differences in achievement indices between all three CA groups on final course grade and the first two of four performance assignments. Moderate and high CA groups were not significantly different from each other on the third and fourth performance tasks. Low and high CA groups were significantly different in all performance areas. No differences were indicated between CA groups on the final examination. Results are discussed relative to the naturalistic nature of the study.     

The effect of culture and self‐construals on predispositions toward verbal communication

This study tested the effects of culture and self‐construals (i.e., independence and interdependence) on predispositions toward verbal communication. For the purpose of this study, we focused on two main areas of verbal communication predispositions: (a) communication apprehension and (b) argumentativeness. In our path model, we expected that culture‐level individualism increases one's construal of self as independent, which, in turn, leads to a higher degree of argumentativeness and a lower level of communication apprehension. We also expected that culture‐level individualism decreases one's construal of self as interdependent, which, in turn, leads to a lower degree of argumentativeness and a higher level of communication apprehension. Data to test the model were drawn from undergraduates (N=539) studying in Korea, Hawaii, and mainland U.S. The data were partially consistent with the theoretical predictions made. The implications of the results for theory and practice are discussed.     

A cross-cultural study of the communication of extra-verbal meaning by gestures(1)

English and Italian encoders were asked to communicate two-dimensional shapes to decoders of their own culture, with and without the use of hand gestures, for materials of high and low verbal codability. The decoders drew what they thought the shapes were and these were rated by English and Italian judges, for similarity to the originals. Higher accuracy scores were obtained by both the English and the Italians, when gestures were allowed, for materials of both high and low codability; but the effect of using gestures was greater for materials of low codability. Improvement in performance when gestures were allowed was greater for the Italians than for the English for both levels of codability. An analysis of the recorded verbal utterances has shown that the detriment in communication accuracy with the elimination of gestures cannot be attributed to disruption of speech performance; rather, changes in speech content occur indicating an increased reliance on verbal means of conveying spatial information. Nevertheless, gestures convey this kind of semantic information more accurately and evidence is provided for the gestures of the Italians communicating this information more effectively than those of the English.     

COMMUNICATION FEAR: A CORRELATIONAL STUDY OF TRAIT GENERALITY

Recent theoretical analyses of communication fear have employed the analogy of state and trait anxiety. Communication apprehension is considered to be representative of general trait anxiety which is a function of disordered personality processes. Public speaking fear represents state anxiety and is a function of normal social evaluation anxiety. Two studies are reported which correlate state-trait measures of anxiety with communication apprehension and public speaking fear. The data support the hypothesis that communication apprehension is associated with trait anxiety but, contrary to the theoretical analysis, public speaking anxiety is associated with both state anxiety and trait anxiety. The results are discussed in terms of the theoretical analysis of communication fear. The implications for future research on assessment and amelioration of communication fear are considered.     

THE EFFECT OF COMMUNICATION APPREHENSION AND SITUATION ON COMMUNICATION STRATEGY CHOICES

Volunteer undergraduate students were administered a questionnaire that assessed their perceptions of the probable use of certain persuasive strategies in a given situation and measured their level of communication apprehension. Data were analyzed to test hypotheses concerning the effects of communication apprehension and type of situation on the use of persuasive strategies. Data confirmed the impact of situation on strategy selection but failed to demonstrate the effect of communication apprehension or an interaction between communication apprehension and situation on strategy use. Implications for communication apprehension and communication competence were offered.     

Examining the effects of communication apprehension within assessment centres

Communication apprehension (CA), an individual difference variable not previously examined within assessment centres, was negatively related to critical thinking and oral communication scores. CA also mediated the relationships between participants' extraversion and emotional stability and their dimension scores. In addition, results indicated that for critical thinking scores, there was a significant interaction between exercise form (i.e., a presentation vs. group discussion) and CA.     

The Employment Interview: A Self-Validation Model

I relate two subjects—speech communication and employment interviewing—by applying a developmental theory of interpersonal communication to the initial job interview. Since I view an employment interview as symbolic interaction, I provide a self-validation model that is analogous to interpersonal perception theory. I suggest the usefulness of the model by describing how interviewers and job applicants can enhance their interviewing skills.     

交流恐惧至中国大学生面众恐惧研究发展轨迹

美国学者McCroskey最早使用交流恐惧这一概念并编制了交流恐惧自陈量表等调研工具,此后有研究者对交流恐惧进行本土化研究。国外学者对交流恐惧产生的原因作了多方面的分析探讨和干预研究;中国学者对交流恐惧的研究主要以大学生为研究对象,在2007年发展了面众恐惧研究,编制了《中国大学生面众恐惧调查量表》并提出了相应矫治对策,给大学生乃至中小学生的心理素质与心理健康教育提供了一条密切联系实际的培养训练途径。     

Desire for control and communication-related personality variables

In a sample of 95 university students, scores on a measure of desire for control correlated .37 with willingness to communicate, supporting the notion of control as a motive for communication and also correlated .43 with self-perceived communication competence but not with communication apprehension.     

A Qualitatively Constructed Interpersonal Communication Model A Grounded Theory Analysis

This study examined 288 interpersonal research articles published during the past 25 years in Human Communication Research. The method used was grounded theory. Through constant comparison analysis, a 17-part categorization system was developed to account for each of the articles. The categories were cognition, nonverbal communication, compliance-gaining, message type, personality, interpersonal effects, conversation, close relationships, perception, deception, initial interaction, culture, relationship development, apprehension, self-disclosure, competence, and conflict. The categories were then placed in relationship with one another to create a model of interpersonal communication that consists of seven components. The final representation provides a new model of interpersonal communication, which is obtained from data, empirically supported, and analytically derived.