Communication apprehension (CA) is the fear or anxiety associated with either real or anticipated communication with another person or persons (Richmond & McCroskey, 1998). By far, the largest group of quiet students are those who are communication apprehensive. Students who are high communication apprehensives may desire to communicate with their peers and teachers, but are impeded by their fear or anxiety about communication.
It has been estimated that 20% of the student population in a school may suffer from communication apprehension. Communication apprehensive students tend to be low verbalizers and often only speak when forced to do so. If a student fears something, it is natural to avoid it or withdraw from it, and this is precisely what the communication apprehensive student does. Communication apprehension is a cognitive state that is centered around the fear of communicating with others.
The student who is highly communicatively apprehensive (scared to talk, quiet) tends to suffer from general anxiety, has a low tolerance for ambiguity, lacks self-control, is not adventurous, lacks emotional maturity, is introverted, has low self-esteem, is not innovative, has a low tolerance for disagreement, and is unassertive. On the other hand, the student who has a low level of communication apprehension (likes to talk, usually outgoing) tends to have low general anxiety, tolerates ambiguous situations, has a high degree of self-control, is adventurous, is emotionally mature, is extroverted, has high self-esteem, is innovative, is able to tolerate relatively high levels of disagreement, and is assertive.
In the classroom environment, communication apprehension can cause a student who is quiet to be perceived in a less positive way than the student who is outgoing. The students who are quiet in the classroom are perceived to be less competent, less intelligent,
less likely to get into trouble, less likely to do well in school, less likely to be called upon to respond. They tend to have less opportunities to correct learning mistakes, receive less attention from the teacher, receive less reinforcement when they do something well, ask for assistance less frequently, volunteer to participate less, and receive lower grades on class participation reports. In a very real sense, this group of students is discriminated against in the school environment. Consequently, by the time they complete high school, their learning, as measured by standardized achievement tests, is impacted negatively. In addition, the high communication apprehensive’s peer groups often see her or him as less approachable, less friendly, less talkative, less outgoing, less pleasant, and less intelligent than the low communication apprehensive student.
In summary, the school environment requires effective communication on the part of the teachers and students. Quiet students tend to fare less well in the school environment than talkative students. More extensive treatments of communication apprehension are available in other books in this series (McCroskey, 1998; Richmond, McCroskey, 1998) so we will not elaborate more here. Suffice it to say, communication apprehension is a very serious problem in the classroom.
Personal Report of Communication Apprehension-24 (PRCA-24)
DIRECTIONS: This instrument is composed of twenty-four statements concerning feelings about communicating with other people. Please indicate the degree to which each statement applies to you by marking whether you:
Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree
1 2 3 4 5
Work quickly; record your first impression.
_____ 1. I dislike participating in group discussions.
_____ 2. Generally, I am comfortable while participating in group discussions. _____ 3. I am tense and nervous while participating in group discussions. _____ 4. I like to get involved in group discussions.
_____ 5. Engaging in a group discussion with new people makes me tense and nervous. _____ 6. I am calm and relaxed while participating in group discussions.
_____ 7. Generally, I am nervous when I have to participate in a meeting. _____ 8. Usually I am calm and relaxed while participating in meetings.
_____ 9. I am very calm and relaxed when I am called upon to express an opinion at a meeting.
_____ 10. I am afraid to express myself at meetings.
_____ 11. Communicating at meetings usually makes me uncomfortable. _____ 12. I am very relaxed when answering questions at a meeting.
_____ 13. While participating in a conversation with a new acquaintance, I feel very nervous.
Chapter Six - 58
_____ 15. Ordinarily I am very tense and nervous in conversations. _____ 16. While conversing with a new acquaintance, I feel very relaxed. _____ 17. Ordinarily I am very calm and relaxed in conversations.
_____ 18. I'm afraid to speak up in conversations. _____ 19. I have no fear of giving a speech.
_____ 20. Certain parts of my body feel very tense and rigid while I am giving a speech. _____ 21. I feel relaxed while giving a speech.
_____ 22. My thoughts become confused and jumbled when I am giving a speech. _____ 23. I face the prospect of giving a speech with confidence.
_____ 24. While giving a speech, I get so nervous I forget facts I really know.
Computing Score for PRCA-24
SCORING: To compute context subscores begin with a score of 18 for each context and follow the instructions below.
1. Group discussion--add scores for items 2, 4, & 6. Subtract scores for items 1, 3, & 5. Scores can range from 6 to 30.
2. Meetings--add scores for items 8, 9, & 12. Subtract scores for items 7, 10, & 11. Scores can range from 6 to 30.
3. Interpersonal--add scores for items 14, 16, & 17. Subtract scores for items 13, 15, & 18. Scores can range from 6 to 30.
4. Public speaking--add scores for items 19, 21, & 23. Subtract scores for items 20, 22, & 24. Scores can range from 6 to 30.
To compute the total score for the PRCA-24, add the four subscores. Total scores can range from 24 to 120. Scores above 80 = high CA; below 50 = low CA.
Source:
McCroskey, J. C. (1982). An introduction to rhetorical communication (4th Ed). Englewood
Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Figure 7.1 Personal Report of Communication Apprehension-24 (PRCA-24) Norms for the PRCA-24
Mean Standard Deviation
For Total Score 65.6 15.3
Group 15.4 4.8
Meeting 16.4 4.8
Dyad (Interpersonal) 14.5 4.2