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.