Ralph R. Behnke

A cognitive‐physiological model of speech anxiety

In the present study, a model of speech anxiety derived from Stanley Schachters cognitive‐physiological formulation of emotion is postulated. According to Schachter, extreme levels of specific emotional response are contingent upon the presence of physiological activation along with an interpretation of the arousal which seems appropriate to the person experiencing it. Applied to speech anxiety, communicator predisposition to interpret arousal, in communication contexts, as anxiety is operationally defined as PRCA scores while heart rate serves as the measure of physiological arousal. These two predictor variables accounted for 79.60 percent of the variance in self‐reported speech state anxiety experienced during public speaking, thereby providing support for a Schachterian model of speech anxiety.

Milestones of Anticipatory Public Speaking Anxiety.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the levels of anticipatory public speaking state and trait anxiety at three pre‐performance milestones or significant events: (1) the moment when the public speech was assigned in class, (2) the mid‐point of a laboratory session during which the speeches were being prepared, and (3) the moment immediately preceding formal presentation of the speech to the class. The results indicate that both state and trait anxiety levels during these events were ordered in a quadratic, v‐shaped episodic pattern as follows: the highest level of anticipatory anxiety occurred just before speaking, the second highest level occurred at the time the assignment was announced and explained, and the lowest level was measured during the time students were preparing their speeches.

Situational Determinants of Communication Apprehension.

The theoretical foundation of communication apprehension is a trait conceptualization of speech anxiety. Although stability is implicit in the general notion of traits, the stability of communication apprehension measures has not been well documented. This study was conducted to determine whether or not an impending classroom performance affects PRCA scores. The results indicate that subjects anticipating a speech performance report higher communication apprehension than those anticipating a lecture. Moreover, the results indicate the possibility of disarray of PRCA scores following anticipated speech performance.

Public Speaking Performance Improvement as a Function of Information Processing in Immediate and Delayed Feedback Interventions.

Treatments of performance feedback in the communication literature have generally focused on the pragmatic advantages of such systems while remaining uncritical of the information processing context in which such instructional interventions are employed. Communication theorists have distinguished between tasks that require conscious deliberation and tasks that are executed automatically. In the present study, the efficacy of using immediate and delayed feedback in generating improvement on a subsequent performance, for tasks which vary in information processing requirements, was examined. Analyses indicate that immediate feedback intervention is more effective when automatic processing occurs while delayedfeedback produces greater change with tasks involving deliberative and effortful processing. Interpretation of the findings, in light of extant theory and research, is provided.

Behavioral inhibition and the attribution of public speaking state anxiety

This study applies H. J. Eysencks (1967) theoretical perspective on the development of anxiety to explain audience perceptions of public speakers. Specifically, the effects of social conditioning, particularly punishment, and the relative conditionability of an individuals nervous system combine to predict behavioral responses to state anxiety. Speakers presented five‐minute speeches under normal classroom conditions, were videotaped, and speaker anxiety behaviors and audience‐observed speaker anxiety were assessed by teams of raters. The hypothesis that behavioral rigidity and inhibition are significant, additive predictors of audience perceived speaker state anxiety was confirmed. The authors discuss these findings in light of treatment strategies, such as flooding and systematic desensitization, designed to counteract behavioral inhibition.

Anticipatory anxiety patterns for male and female public speakers

In previous research, physiological and psychological anxiety patterns have been established for public speakers. In a recent study (Behnke & Sawyer, 1999) reported state and trait patterns of anticipatory anxiety for public speakers for two weeks preceding the actual presentation. In the present study, gender differences in anticipatory state anxiety and narrowband trait anxiety patterns were investigated. Significant gender‐based pattern differences were discovered with higher anxiety patterns reported by female speakers. Both female and male speaker groups exhibited the hypothesized quadratic v‐shaped pattern of mean anxiety scores for the anticipatory period. Theoretical and pedagogical implications of the findings are discussed.

A Psychophysiological Study of State and Trait Anxiety in Public Speaking.

This study investigates the effects of several variables upon the correlation of psychological and physiological measures of speech anxiety.

The communication of public speaking anxiety

The relationship between beginning speakers’ self‐reported speech state anxiety and audience perceptions of that anxiety, during public speaking performances are investigated in this study. The results indicate that untrained audiences are not proficient at detecting the self‐perceived state anxiety of beginning speakers. Moreover, audiences perceive speaker anxiety levels to be lower, during performance, than the speakers themselves report. Implications of the findings for students and instructors of public speaking are suggested.

A Psychological Pattern of Anxiety in Public Speaking.

In previous research, a physiological pattern of speech anxiety has been established for the periods before, during, and after delivering a public speech. However, no corresponding psychological pattern has been reported. Although strong correlations between psychological and physiological measures have not been found, it seemed reasonable to expect public speakers to exhibit a psychological pattern of speech anxiety similar to the physiological pattern. The results of this study support that hypothesis. The observed pattern is a monotonic function decreasing from the beginning of the speech through the post speech period.

Conceptualizing speech anxiety as a dynamic trait

In the present research, the concept of focused, narrow‐band measurement of anxiety traits in speech communication is advanced and empirical evidence for its validity and utility is presented. The results show that narrow‐band speech anxiety trait scores are better predictors of state anxiety during public speaking than are the more conventional medium‐band or wide‐band configurations. Moreover, dynamic trait anxiety, the patterning of narrow‐band trait anxiety scores over the four conventional periods of public speaking, shows a monotonically decreasing function with significant differences among all means. It was discovered that speech anxiety trait scores increase as the focus of measurement is narrowed, indicating greater sensitivity in detecting the most potent elements of the trait anxiety pattern. Implications for pedagogical and therapeutic intervention are discussed.