Musical performance anxiety: The three-systems model and self-efficacy theory

Two major developments in behavioural formulations of fear and anxiety, the three-systems model and self-efficacy theory, were contrasted for differential predictions in anxious and nonanxious pianists playing under stressful and nonstressful conditions. Forty competent pianists were assigned to Relatively Anxious and Nonanxious groups using a median split and played alone and before an evaluative audience. Self-report, behavioural and physiological measures were recorded throughout the session using videotaping and telemetry systems. The audience condition elicited intense emotional responses in the Anxious pianists, while the Nonanxious pianists were somewhat less reactive. In the audience condition, the Relatively Anxious group exhibited increased levels of anxiety in each of the response systems (i.e. synchrony), while desynchrony was observed in the Relatively Nonaxious group. Correlations among the dependent measures were generally weak, but concordance was most often observed when intense emotional responses were elicited. The results were consistent with formulations of anxiety which emphasize the relative independence of the different measures, thereby lending more support to the three-systems model.