Self‐reported speech anxiety and selected demographic variables

A Racing Heart, Rattling Knees, and Ruminative Thoughts: Defining, Explaining, and Treating Public Speaking Anxiety

“…Some differences are a matter of response degree. For instance, although females tend to exhibit greater cognitive state PSA at all milestones (Behnke & Sawyer, 2000;Gilkinson, 1943;Jensen, 1976), the pattern of cognitive state PSA responding is similar for both males and females (monotonic decreasing). Porter (1974) reported a similar difference for HR patterns.…”

“…Interested readers should consult more thorough treatments of psychophysiology (Cacioppo, Tassinary, & Berntson, 2007). [3] Although summation can be the direct result of speaking experiences (Low & Sheets, 1951), it does not necessarily have to be as individuals most fearful of speaking tend to be novices (Gilkinson, 1943;Jensen, 1976). As Gilkinson (1943) proposes, general social anxiety can become conditioned by one or more unrelated events and later become associated with public speaking.…”