Oral and written skills are increasingly considered to be essential tools in the job market for the success of any worker, and are thus called soft skills. Nevertheless, most graduates who enter the labor market experience difficulties in the apprehension of communication, not only with regard to writing, but also in oral communication. These…

Examines how the impromptu speech exercise affects trait and situational communication apprehension (CA). Uses McCroskey's Personal Report of Communication Apprehension to study trait CA and Clevenger's Speaker Anxiety Scale to measure situational CA. Indicates that subjects who completed the impromptu speech significantly lowered their…

A study was conducted to test the relationship between communication apprehension (CA) and learning. Subjects were 194 college students at a midwestern university enrolled in an introductory speech course who were divided by scores on the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA). The groups heard a class presentation and were then…

A study sought to affirm the previously established relationship between irrational beliefs and communication apprehension. Four hundred and fifty-four subjects completed an Irrational Beliefs Test (IBT) and all 24 questions of the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA-24) test. Results support the hypothesis that students high in…

A study surveyed communication apprehension (CA) among the college student population. Persons in higher education are concerned about determining whether or not sufficient assistance is available to students for whom communication apprehension appears to be problematic. Subjects, 2,377 students in speech classes on 11 campuses of The Pennsylvania…

Tests three rival measurement models of a common measure of trait communication apprehension, the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA-24). Finds that the second-order factor model better fits the data in terms of conceptual implications, psychometric properties, and empirical evidence than the linear, unidimensional model or the…

Findings strongly support the content validity of the 24 items included in the instrument to measure communication apprehension. (PD)

Although previous research has explored the differences between Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA) scores and Receiver Apprehension Test (RAT) scores, no studies have focused on the relationship between PRCA scores, RAT scores, and Telephone Apprehension Inventory (TAI) scores for the United States and Australia. A study…

This paper examines the impact of traditional and accelerated public speaking instruction on undergraduate-level students' self-perceptions of communication apprehension and self-esteem. Subjects, students at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs were enrolled in the same semester in either a 16-week traditional public speaking course…

Applies an emotion-based theory of human response to resolve conceptual and measurement problems associated with anxiety. Supports the conceptualization of communication apprehension as a personality trait predisposing certain individuals to higher levels of anxiety in oral communication. (PD)

A study was undertaken to determine the relationship between assertiveness and communication apprehension by examining common factors that exist between the items on the Rathus Assertiveness Schedule and the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension. The two instruments were administered to students at a large midwestern university. Responses…

Concerned with providing managerial assessment centers with oral communication criteria against which communication apprehension may be measured, the convergent validity of the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension--Organization Form (PRCA-OF) was tested against 23 raters' scores in five one-day developmental assessment centers. The…

A cross-cultural study was undertaken to examine levels of communication apprehension reported by five- to eleven-year-old subjects in the United States and Sweden. The approach was twofold: the examination of elementary age subjects and the use of their native language. The Personal Report of Communication Fear was administered to 186 males and…

Comparisons were conducted to assess the impact of levels of communication apprehension (CA) on students in a traditional hybrid basic course against students placed in freshmen interest group (FIG) settings. This investigation assessed the impact of the FIG classroom at an open admissions 4-year college on reduction of communication apprehension…