Extensive research has been conducted to look at the patterns of speech state anxiety over time (Behnke & Sawyer,
1998
1999
2000
2001a
2001b
; Sawyer & Behnke,
1999
). In these studies, speaker state ...anxiety is measured at four key psychological moments, called milestones, occurring before, during, and immediately after speaking. The resulting patterns have been related to underlying psychological processes, including those described by Gray (
1982
). The purpose of the present study was to use Kenny and Zautra's (
1995
) Trait-State-Error (TSE) model to partition the variance in multiwave data for the public speaking milestones cited above in consecutive public speaking events. Results indicate that speech trait anxiety accounts for 52% of the variance in state anxiety milestone data, anxiety reactivity contributes 27% to the prediction, and situational influences add another 20% variance in the dependent variable. The remaining 1% in the model is attributed to random error of measurement.
This study investigates how formal and informal speaking situations influence the oral fluency and accuracy of Chinese as a second language learner, and also shows how learners in different speaking ...situations weigh the relative importance of fluency and accuracy. This study found that the different speaking situations showed significant influence no matter what the language level of the learner. In informal speaking situations when compared with the native speakers of Chinese, Chinese learners are more likely to pay attention to the oral fluency, thus devoting more resources to the fluency of expression; also, in formal speaking situations, learners tend to pay more attention to oral output accuracy and so devote more resources to accuracy of expression. The conclusions above should be useful for the oral Chinese teaching.
Studied the relationship between the tendency to hold certain irrational beliefs and the likelihood of becoming emotionally aroused in various types of situations. In a correlational study (Exp I), ...77 female undergraduates completed a battery of tests including Jones's Irrational Beliefs Test, the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale, and Alpert-Haber Achievement Anxiety Test. Results show a positive relationship between irrational beliefs and the measures of interpersonal, examination, and public speaking anxiety. Exp II, with 18 female undergraduates who completed the Multiple Affect Adjective Checklist 3 times, focused on 1 specific irrational belief-the overriding importance of social approval-and investigated the likelihood of emotional arousal occurring among individuals who ascribed to this belief. When asked to imagine themselves in social situations that might be interpreted as involving rejection by others, Ss holding this belief reported feeling significantly more anxious and angry than those who did not. (23 ref)
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