ERIC Number: ED218680
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1982-May
Pages: 43
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Towards a Reconceptualization of Communication Apprehension: A Cognitive Approach.
Greene, John O.; Sparks, Glenn G.
Among the characteristics of communicative apprehensive individuals are fearful reactions to communication situations, perceptions of low personal competency, an inability to identify appropriate social behaviors, and an anticipation of negative outcomes to interaction. One proposed model for communication apprehension assumes that a state of apprehension arises as a result of an inability to identify communication behaviors expected to lead to a realization of the interaction goal (perceived outcome). The chance of arriving at an expectation of goal accomplishment is increased as the number of alternatives under consideration is increased. These expectations arise as a result of a cognitive evaluation process that may involve both personality and situational factors. The model assumes that the task of the individual is to identify some behavior or behavioral strategy which, when enacted in the presence of one's co-interactant, will result in the accomplishment of some end. An initial test of the model to determine its use to predict the occurrence of a state of communication apprehension showed that expected success in accomplishing an interaction goal and expected self-image maintenance were both significant predictors of anxiety. (HOD)
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Opinion Papers; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Note: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the International Communication Association (Boston, MA, May 2-5, 1982).