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Performance and interaction anxiety: specific relationships with other- and self-evaluation concerns
Julie N Hook1, David P Valentiner, Jill Connelly
1Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, USA.
Anxiety, Stress, and Coping
|February 7, 2012
Summary
Performance anxiety (PA) is linked to concerns about how others perceive you, while interaction anxiety (IA) relates to self-judgment. Findings suggest these are distinct dimensions of social anxiety.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Social Anxiety Research
Background:
- Social anxiety encompasses various fears, including performance anxiety (PA) and interaction anxiety (IA).
- The specific evaluative concerns differentiating PA and IA require further clarification.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if performance anxiety (PA) is associated with other-evaluation concerns.
- To determine if interaction anxiety (IA) is associated with self-evaluation concerns.
- To explore the distinctiveness of PA and IA in individuals with public speaking fears.
Main Methods:
- Participants with public speaking fears underwent a public speaking challenge.
- Anxiety levels (PA and IA) were measured.
- Speech characteristics were observed under other-evaluation and self-evaluation conditions.
Main Results:
- Individuals with high PA or IA were distinguishable from nonanxious controls.
- High PA individuals showed more negative speech in the other-evaluation condition.
- High IA and nonanxious individuals did not differ in speech characteristics between conditions.
Conclusions:
- Findings provide evidence supporting the distinctiveness of performance anxiety and interaction anxiety.
- PA appears specifically linked to concerns about external judgment.
- IA's specific evaluative concerns warrant further investigation.
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