Reticence: An affirmation and revision

Abstract

In 1965, with the publication of “The Problem of Reticence,” Gerald M. Phillips introduced the reticence construct to the field of speech communication. Over the next three decades, Phillips wrote about the nature of reticence, dramatically changing his initial view of the essence of the problem (Phillips, 1977) and then tinkering with his theory in subsequent publications (Phillips, 1984, 1986, 1991, 1997). This manuscript, the culmination of almost a decade of research, presents a theoretical statement on the nature of reticence that affirms, in part, Phillips’ conceptualization but, grounded in new empirical data, refines and revises the construct. A new definition and a six‐component model of reticence are proposed, followed by a discussion of theoretical and treatment implications.

Keywords:

• reticence
• communication anxiety
• reticent beliefs
• communication incompetence