Abstract
Extensive research has been conducted to look at the patterns of speech state anxiety over time (Behnke & Sawyer, Citation1998 Citation1999 Citation2000 Citation2001a Citation2001b; Sawyer & Behnke, Citation1999). In these studies, speaker state anxiety is measured at four key psychological moments, called milestones, occurring before, during, and immediately after speaking. The resulting patterns have been related to underlying psychological processes, including those described by Gray (Citation1982). The purpose of the present study was to use Kenny and Zautra's (Citation1995) Trait-State-Error (TSE) model to partition the variance in multiwave data for the public speaking milestones cited above in consecutive public speaking events. Results indicate that speech trait anxiety accounts for 52% of the variance in state anxiety milestone data, anxiety reactivity contributes 27% to the prediction, and situational influences add another 20% variance in the dependent variable. The remaining 1% in the model is attributed to random error of measurement.