Purpose: This study provides preliminary reference data for speech and articulatory rates of school-age children in conversational and narrative speaking contexts. Method: Participants included 36 typically developing children in 3 groups of 12 participants at ages 7, 9, and 11 years. Conversational and narrative speech rates were measured in…

Finds that persons (college students) thwarted in their attempts to provide geographic directions to others reiterated directions with little change in structure but with significant increases in vocal intensity and decreases in speech rate. Confirms the hierarchy hypothesis that individuals modify their message plans to make alterations first…

A comprehensive understanding of stage fright will better enable teachers and researchers to select the most appropriate "cure" and to determine those cases in which speech training will help reduce stage fright or other states of communication apprehension. Attempts to understand stage fright have focused on three psychological theories…

Provides strong support for the hypothesis that as communication reticence increases, expectations of success in communication situations decreases. Investigates the predictive utility of employing multiple measures of reticence as compared to single operationalizations. (NKA)

Examines the effectiveness of rhetoritherapy as a treatment for individuals with communication difficulties. Finds that performance-based communication training is effective in decreasing communication apprehension and problems communicating and in increasing other-perceived talkativeness. Reports that rhetoritherapy may be a more effective…

Presents a follow-up study to further assess the extent to which reticent participants subscribe to beliefs outlined in prior research and to further test the ability of the Penn State program to alter those beliefs. Reveals significant pretreatment differences between reticent and comparison group participants on 7 of 16 beliefs. Shows…

Presents a theoretical statement on the nature of reticence that affirms, in part, Gerald M. Phillips' conceptualization in prior research but, grounded in new empirical data, refines and revises the construct. Proposes a new definition and a six-component model of reticence. Discusses theoretical and treatment implications. (SR)

A study examined skills related to an individual's satisfaction with a partner's listening ability. Forty-nine undergraduates in a listening skills class were asked to increase the use of effective listening behaviors with three to five individuals with whom they had a relationship--this resulted in 194 participants in the study. Two…

Thirty-two speech anxious college students participated in a study that examined whether four treatments that have been effective when applied separately would be equally effective when applied in combination. The treatments were (1) systemic desensitization (SD), (2) speech skills training (SST), (3) SST combined with coping skills training (CST)…

Compares the effectiveness of systematic desensitization (SD), rational emotive therapy (RET), and visualization (VIS) in reducing communication apprehension (CA). Concludes that, while all treatment modes reduce CA, no significant differences were found in their effectiveness. Emphasizes that VIS is a relatively simple technique that can be used…

Reports results of a study that examined the perceptions of 173 students who had lived abroad about their communication in three types of reentry relationships: (1) with parents, (2) with siblings, and (3) with friends. (VLC)

Presents an ontological understanding of the phenomenon of anxiety and makes a comparison with the phenomenon of fear. Discusses the experience of anxiety in communication situations and offers implications for communication researchers. (JMF)

Assesses the construct and concurrent validity of the Reticence Scale, a 24-item self-report measure. Compares it to other established measures and to open-ended responses to a set of questions. Finds satisfactory support for its construct and concurrent validity. Finds high correlations between dimensions of the Reticence Scale and the open-ended…

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…

This study investigated the effects of oral communication apprehension and writing communication apprehension on student contact with instructors outside the classroom and the effects of apprehension on academic achievement. Results indicated that apprehension negatively affects both student assistance outside the classroom and academic…