Communication apprehension and general anxiety in the prediction of public speaking anxiety

The communication apprehension (CA) construct is based on the assumption that information about a person's tendency to experience anxiety in communication situations provides unique information, beyond that provided by assessing that person's predisposition to experience anxiety in general, in predicting anxiety when forced to communicate. However, the validity of this assumption is uncertain. In the present study, the predictive power of the PRCA‐24 and a general anxiety measure was examined at three separate intervals during a semester long public speaking course. Results indicated that, at the outset, the PRCA‐24 and the general anxiety measure predicted anxiety experienced during public speaking with equal power. By the end of the semester, the PRCA‐24 was clearly superior to the general measure in predicting self‐reported performance anxiety.

Key concepts:

• Communication apprehension
• general anxiety
• specific anxiety
• state anxiety
• trait anxiety
• stagefright PRCA
• public speaking anxiety
• performance anxiety
• assimilation theory
• multiple regression
• self‐report scales