What is PSA?

 Communication Apprehension is a phenomenon that most often occurs in people who have psychological anxiety related disorders, such as Social Anxiety Disorder and General Anxiety Disorder. The long-standing definition of Communication Apprehension(CA) in general is, “an individual's level of fear or anxiety associated with either real or anticipated communication with another person or persons” (McCroskey 1977).  PSA falls under this broader spectrum of CA as a subtype, or context of the phenomenon. In other words, PSA is when one experiences CA while speaking publicly. Studies show that PSA does not necessarily decrease the amount a person talks while presenting, but it does dramatically affect the quality of their presentation. Have you ever listened to a presentation where the person seems to talk a lot but isn't making very much sense? If you have, then you may have experienced a presentation in which the speaker was very highly apprehensive. PSA can then be broken down further into two categories: State vs. Trait and Three Systems. State PSA is the nervousness that every one feels from time to time. For example, a person who is usually comfortable speaking, but is giving a speech that is worth 50% of their grade will naturally and rightfully feel a little bit nervous. This nervousness would still be considered PSA even if the person is nervous because they didn't prepare. Any kind of nervousness or anxiety experienced while speaking is considered state PSA. Trait PSA is when a person never feels comfortable with speaking and depending on their level of PSA may start to feel nervous the moment the assignment is given! Trait PSA is the result of personality traits that a person has inherited from their parents and/or developed over time that cause them to not feel comfortable being in the spotlight. These people tend to be more introverted personality types and typically perform worse in presentations because they to rehearse more mentally than physically. They also spend more time on speech and visual aid construction than actually rehearsing. To gain a better understadning of the trait vs. state perspective, visit the trait vs. state page Next, is the Three Systems Perspective.  This perspective says that symptoms are accounted for by the cooperation of the physiological, cognitive and behavioral systems. To learn more on the causes and how personality/ brain functioning affects levels of PSA please visit the CAUSES page.

Symptoms/Effects of PSA

The video below is a lesson excerpt from mindbites.com. The people in this video discuss their symptoms and feelings while experiencing PSA. 

List of Visible Symptoms

• Shaking
• Sweating
• Tightness in voice
• Rigidness in stance
• Speaking too quickly OR
• Speaking too slowly
• Person jumbles their thoughts
• Seems to be breathing heavily OR
• Not breathing enough/at all
• Some people faint
• Any kind of nervous/anxious behavior
• avoidance of communication-based rehearsal methods

List of Non-Visible Symptoms

• Speaker imagines failure
• Speaker does not feel that they are good enough compared to their peers
• Upset stomach, irritable bowls (the relevance of these is debated in research)
• Above resting heart rate
• Speaker prefers mental rehearsal and imagined interactions over physical rehearsal

 This is a segment from a Thinkwell, Inc. lesson. These lessons were taken from collegiate academic programs. If you wish to check out more lessons by Thinkwell, Inc. or the clip malfuntctions, the link to this clip's page has been provided below the video.