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An assessment of curricular methods to reduce communication apprehension among public speaking students

Author

Matthew Thomas Kemper, University of the Pacific

Date of Award

2007

Document Type

Thesis - Pacific Access Restricted

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Department

Communication

First Advisor

Jon F. Schamber

First Committee Member

Qingwen Dong

Second Committee Member

R. Alan Ray

Abstract

This study investigated curricular methods to reduce communication apprehension among public speaking students. Previous research has found many intervention strategies to be successful in reducing levels of communication apprehension, including both visualization and cognitive restructuring. However, prior research has failed to examine the efficacy of such techniques within the context of teaching a public speaking course that has limited time to devote to these techniques. Consequently, an experiment was conducted which examined whether a one hour instructional unit using cognitive restructuring and visualization can reduce levels of communication apprehension among public speaking students. The results of the study indicate that a one hour instructional unit does not reduce the anxiety of high communication apprehensive students in a public speaking course.

Pages

51

Recommended Citation

Kemper, Matthew Thomas. (2007). An assessment of curricular methods to reduce communication apprehension among public speaking students. University of the Pacific, Thesis - Pacific Access Restricted. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/674