Confirmation of the Ability of the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension-24 (PRCA-24) to Predict Behavioral Indicators of Social Interaction

Abstract

One of the major criticisms of personality and trait research is its over-reliance on self-report measures and the lack of evidence illustrating these measures’ ability to accurately predict behavior (Northouse, 2007). The current investigation sought to answer this critique by using one of the most widely recognized trait measures in the communication discipline to predict behavior. Specifically, the current investigation uses a participant’s score on the PRCA-24 to predict social behavior. Results indicate that the PRCA-24 was able to predict social interaction behaviors more than 70% of the time. These results not only add to the validity of this measure but speak to the utility of all trait research.

Keywords:

• Communication Apprehension
• Research Methods
• Trait Communication

• We were able to predict behavioral outcomes 70% of the time.

• We were able to predict the level of engagement 73.3% of the time

We proved a strong correlation between order of interaction and the PRCA-24 measure.

Acknowledgments

Special thank you to the School of Communication at Chapman University for their support and to James McCroskey and all of the Trait Communication researchers that created the foundation for this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.