DELHI TECHNOLOGICAL

UNIVERSITY

EFFECTS OF COMMUNICATION APPREHENSION

REPORT
DEPARTMENT OF HUMANITIES

SUBMITTED BY : SUBMITTED TO:

ADITYA SHARMA Dr Rachna Yadav

2K17 / CO / 029 ​DEPARTMENT OF HUMANITIES

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We would like to express our special thanks of gratitude to our teacher

PROF. RACHNA YADAV ​who gave us the golden opportunity to do
this wonderful project on the topic, ​EFFECTS OF COMMUNICATION
APPREHENSION​ which also helped us in doing a lot of research and we
came to know about so many new things. We are thankful to them.
Secondly, we would also like to thank our parents and friends who
helped us a lot in finishing this project within the limited timeframe.

We are making this project not only for marks but also to alleviate our
knowledge. Thanks again to everyone who has helped us.
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project entitled, “EFFECTS OF

COMMUNICATION" submitted by ADITYA SHARMA as a part of
the partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of "BACHELOR
OF TECHNOLOGY" in "COMPUTER ENGINEERING" at the
"DELHI TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY", is an authentic work
carried out by them under my supervision and guidance.

PROF. RACHNA YADAV

(Dept. of Humanities, DTU)
 INDEX

SNO. TOPIC PAGE NO.

1. Acknowledgement 1

2. Certificate 2

3. Introduction 5

4. Discussion 6

● Nature of communication apprehension

● The effects of communication
apprehension
● Extent of the problem
● Effects in the Classroom
● Communication apprehension and
non-verbal behaviour
● Future research in the field

5. Conclusion 23

6. Sources & References 24

Introduction

Communication​ is the process by which a message or information is

exchanged from a sender to a receiver. For example a production
manager (sender) may send a message to a sales manager (receiver)
asking for sales forecasts for the next 6 months so they can plan
production levels. The sales manager would then reply (feedback) to the
production manager with the appropriate figures.

Communication​ establishes relationships and makes organizing

possible. Every message has a purpose or objective. The sender intends
-- whether consciously or unconsciously -- to accomplish something by
communicating. In organizational contexts, messages typically have a
definite objective: to motivate, to inform, to teach, to persuade, to
entertain, or to inspire. This definite purpose is, in fact, one of the
principal differences between casual conversation and managerial
communication.

Communication apprehension​ is the level of anxiety triggered by the

real or anticipated communication act, as defined by McCroskey The
fear of judgment from the audience and self-image is what fuels the
anxiety. Communication apprehension, CA, can cause a variety of
involuntary responses such as "stomach butterflies" which is your body
shutting the digestive system down and going into the “fight-or-flight”
response, shaking, nausea, sweating, forgetting the information, among
many others.
Effective communication​ is all about conveying your messages to other
people clearly and unambiguously. It's also about receiving information
that others are sending to you, with as little distortion as possible. Doing
this involves effort from both the sender of the message and the receiver.

And it's a process that can be fraught with error, with messages muddled
by the sender, or misinterpreted by the recipient. When this isn't
detected, it can cause tremendous confusion, wasted effort and missed
opportunity.In fact, communication is only successful when both the
sender and the receiver understand the same information as a result of
the communication.

Barriers to Effective Communication​ -

● Process Barriers: Every step in the communication process is

necessary for effective and good communication.. Blocked steps
become barriers.
● Physical Barriers: Any number of physical distractions can
interfere with the effectiveness of communication, including a
telephone call, drop-in visitors et cetera.
● Semantic Barriers: The words we choose, how we use them, and
the meaning we attach to them cause many communication
barriers.
● Psychological Barriers: Barriers or problems arising due to the
stress or psychological problems are psychological barriers. It is
difficult to accept and overcome these barriers.
● Socio-Cultural Barriers: Due to differences in social status or
cultural barriers many times we face differences in
communication. These are socio-cultural barriers.
Communication can broadly be categorised as -

• ​Verba​l: Any communication which involves the use of words is

defined as Verbal communication. The use of words could be oral or
written. Types of Verbal communication:

• Telephonic communication

• Written communication (Letters, Email)

• Telephonic Communication

• ​Non verbal​: As opposed to verbal communication, we have non-verbal

communication where no words are used, either spoken or written.
Non-verbal communication is normally made through:

• Gestures: They can either support or contradict your message.

• Eye contact: This can convey interest, recognition, honesty,

credibility or boredom, hostility etc.

• Facial expressions: These reflect attitudes and emotions.

• Posture: Can also either support or contradict your message.

The Nature of Communication
Apprehension

The term "​communication apprehension​" was coined by ​McCroskey

and refers to an anxiety syndrome associated with either real or
anticipated communication with another person or persons. This
syndrome is similar to "reticence." ​Phillips​ has defined a "reticent"
person as one "from whom anxiety about participation in oral
communication outweighs his projection of gain from the situation."

The person handicapped by communication apprehension would be

expected to avoid communication much of the time because he or she
would experience negative reactions from anxiety that would surpass
projected gain from interaction. This, of course, does not mean that the
person would never engage in interaction. Rather the person would
choose to do so much less frequently than persons not afflicted with
communication apprehension under similar circumstances.

Since many benefits in our society, from good grades to good jobs,
depend heavily on one's ability and willingness to interact with other
people, the highly communication-apprehensive person is very likely to
fail to share many of the benefits taken for granted by
non-apprehensives.

Neither the high apprehensive nor the low apprehensive may be aware of
this impact. The apprehensive actually may be happy, in that he or she is
able to construct an environment in which to live that prevents
communication apprehension from intruding.
The Effects of Communication Apprehension

For many years the ​field of Speech​ has been concerned with one
manifestation of communication apprehension, state fright in public
speaking, and much effort has been directed toward helping people
overcome this problem in public speaking courses. Of course, highly
apprehensive students usually avoid such courses whenever possible.
Further, if they get into one it is usually a very unpleasant,
anxiety-provoking experience which accomplishes little at best and may
make the situation worse.

Other manifestations of communication apprehension generally have

been ignored. However, it has been established that people suffering
from communication apprehension also behave differently in small
group communication contexts. ​Wells and Lashbroo​k found that high
apprehensives interacted less in small groups and, when they interacted,
their interactions were less relevant than those of their peers who did not
suffer from communication apprehension.

Studies by Heston and Daly​ have also found that high apprehensives
interact with less frequency than low apprehensions. Hamilton found
that high apprehensives showed more tension, less interest, and talked
less in small groups than low apprehensions. ​Sorenson and McCroskey
found this same pattern in small group interaction in both zero-history
and intact groups. Weiner also obtained the same results in a
zero-history group.Hamilton also found that high apprehensives tended
to avoid self disclosure more than low apprehensions. These behaviors
have also been found to have an impact on other group members.
Quiggins​ found that high apprehensions were perceived by other group
members to be less extroverted, composed, and task-attractive than low
apprehensives. Further, low apprehensive group members saw high
apprehensives as less competent and socially attractive than other low
apprehensives.

More recent research has confirmed the negative impact of

communication apprehension on interpersonal attraction and on
perceived credibility.It has also been found that high communication
apprehensives are less likely to be turned to for opinion leadership than
low apprehensives.

It is clear from these studies that communication apprehension

negatively affects the communication behavior of some people in small
group interaction. It should not come as a surprise, therefore, to find that
communication apprehension is also related to school achievement, as
measured by standardized tests, since much instruction in our schools is
based on group activity.
Extent of the Problem
It should be clear from the discussion above that communication
apprehension is indeed a handicap that harms some people in our
society. The next question concerns how many people are affected by
this handicap. Since there has been no widespread testing of young
people in the public schools, answering this question must depend on
generalization from what sample data is available, most of which is
drawn from college populations.

On the basis of samples of ​1,434 college students at Michigan State

University and 2,479 college students at Illinois State University​, it
has been estimated that between 10 and 20 percent of the population
suffer from extreme communication apprehension and possibly as many
as 20 percent more suffer from communication apprehension to a degree
that it has some impact on their communication behavior. Moore has
found about the same distribution in a sample of 167 aged citizens.

Even based on the most conservative figures, we can safely estimate that
there are at least as many people suffering from debilitating
communication apprehension as suffer from all other handicaps listed in
the ​HEW report​ cited previously. Communication apprehension, then,
may be the single most pervasive handicap confronting children in our
schools and citizens in our society.

Although methods have been developed and demonstrated to be

effective in helping people overcome this handicap, there are only
isolated instances where such help is being provided at the present time.
Effects in the Classroom
While communication apprehension is clearly a severe personal problem
for the individual suffering from it, our major concern here is with its
impact, if any, in the learning environment. If no effect could be found,
it would be a problem that the individual classroom teacher might safely
ignore. Unfortunately, communication apprehension does have an
impact on learning, and that impact is negative. The most obvious
effects are those in classes specifically related to one form of
communication apprehension, e.g., public speaking for oral
communication apprehensives, English composition for written
communication apprehensives, vocal music for singing apprenhensives.

Two things should be expected- ​First​, the student will seek to avoid the
class, if possible. ​Second​, the student's apprehension wiIl interfere with
successful completion of assignments, if he or she cannot avoid the
class. Obviously, in the elementary school every. apprehensive will be in
classes that will cause problems. But, our attention should not be
restricted to these special cases. Rather, let us consider the more general
indicants of a possible effect.

● Standardized Achievement Tests.

One of the least biased methods of determining a student's level of

learning is by use of standardized achievement tests. Such tests are
routinely administered during the final two years of secondary
school. McCroskey and Andersen found that communication
students who were highly apprehensive scored significantly lower
 than less apprehensive students on the American College Test
(ACT)

● Grade Point Average.

A study of 1,454 college students examined the impact of

communication apprehension on grades awarded by teachers. The
results indicated a sharp distinction between students who were
high communication apprehensives and those who were low
communication apprehensives. The low communication
apprehensives had GPA's across all courses taken that were
approximately one-half grade point higher than the high
communication apprehensive students on a four point scale.

● Achievement in Small Classes.

From the studies noted above it is evident that high communication

apprehension is associated with lower overall student achievement.
Other research has investigated the effect of communication
apprehension in particular types of instruction. High
communication apprehensives were found to receive lower scores
on both objective tests and instructor evaluated written projects
than low communication apprehensives in small college classes.
Communication Apprehension and
Nonverbal Behavior
Although research on the ​effects of communication apprehension​ is
still in its infancy, two recent studies indicate that the impact of this
syndrome may be even more pervasive than previously believed. These
studies considered two nonverbal behaviors, both remote from one
another and not closely associated with previous research. These
behaviors were seating choice in a small group and housing choice.
These two behaviors were chosen for study previous research has
indicated that seating position in a small group and housing proximity
both have an impact on subsequent communication.

Research reported by ​Strodtbeck and Hook and Hare and Bales

indicates that in small group communication settings certain seats are
perceived consistently as "leadership" or "dominant" positions. People in
these seats tend to be selected as leaders and to interact more frequently
than people in other seats. Persons who are highly communication
apprehensive would probably find such seats to cause them increased
anxiety, since other people might have a high expectation of interaction
with them.

Weiner hypothesized​, therefore, that high apprehensive individuals

would tend to choose seats in a small group setting that would not be
perceived as "leadership" or "dominant" positions, while low
apprehensive individuals would tend to choose the "leadership" or
"dominant" positions. They also made choices of seats they would prefer
in four configurations representing five person groups. Subjects were
also asked to "pick the seat that you think the person who wanted to
exert the most influence would take" in each configuration.

The results indicated that the seats believed to be influential on the basis
of the previous research were also chosen as such by these subjects.
Subjects one standard deviation above the mean on the PRCA were
classified as high communication apprehensives, those one standard
deviation below the mean were classified as low communication
apprehensives. Frequencies of influential seat choice and non-choice
were computed for both groups. The hypothesis was supported in all
individual configurations and for all configurations taken together.

High communication apprehensives tended to avoid influential seats

while low communication apprehensives tended to seek them. This
finding, in conjunction with earlier research indicating that people in
influential seats tend to have a disproportionate impact on the group
product, suggests that communication apprehensives tend to place
themselves at a disadvantage in their attempts to avoid communication.
While their ideas could be as good as any other group members, and
significant personal benefits could be at stake as well as group benefits,
high communication apprehensives will be less likely to have an
influence on groups of which they are members than their less
apprehensive peers.

The choice of where to live is one of the more personal decisions with
which an individual is confronted. Although economic circumstances
certainly impinge heavily on such decisions, in most instances people
have some latitude of choice within their given economic condition. If
the impact of communication apprehension is as pervasive as is
believed, it might be expected to have an impact on housing choice.
McCroskey and Leppard​ hypothesized that high communication
apprehensives will choose housing units where interaction with
neighbors is impeded while low communication apprehensives will
choose housing units where interaction is facilitated. ​Festinger,
Schachter, and Back and Blake, Rhead, Wedge and Mouton​ have
observed that some housing units, because of their location, tend to
facilitate interaction among neighbors, while people in other units tend
to have little contact with their neighbors.

In order to test their hypothesis, ​McCroskey and Leppard​ constructed

models of housing areas representing a dormitory, a fraternity/sorority
house, a trailer court, and a suburb with private houses. Within each
model there were areas similar to those Festinger et al. found to facilitate
interaction, areas similar to those in which Festinger et al. found little
interaction, and ambiguous areas. High apprehensives were defined as
those scoring one standard deviation above the mean on the PRCA, low
apprehensives were those scoring one standard deviation below the
mean on the PRCA. The hypothesis was supported. The results were
significant for all housing types taken together. High apprehensives
favored housing in low interaction areas while low apprehensives
favored housing in high interaction areas.

Although we must take care not to over interpret this type of data, it
would appear from these results that communication apprehension does
indeed have a far-ranging, pervasive influence on human behavior.
Housing has been found in many studies across a wide variety of
cultures to have a major impact on the diffusion of innovations in a
society.
One of the best predictors of ​opinion leadership and the development
of local influentials​ is housing. People in high interaction locations tend
to have a major influence on the behavior of other people in their
community. The results of the McCroskey and Leppard study, then,
suggest that high communication apprehensives are much less likely to
have an impact in their community than their less apprehensive
neighbors, regardless of the quality of their ideas.
Future Research on Communication
Apprehension and Nonverbal
Communication Behavior
The results of the recent studies on seating and housing choices are
interesting in and of themselves. The importance of the results, however,
is most manifest in the implications we can draw concerning possible
additional relationships between communication apprehension and
nonverbal communication behaviors. Previous research on
communication apprehension has been focused on the relationship
between this variable and verbal communication behavior, or, more
often, the lack of it.

The ​recent findings​ indicate that communication apprehension is a

pervasive phenomenon that impacts at least some communication related
behaviors that are nonverbal. Clearly, there is a need for additional
research exploring the possible relationships between communication
apprehension and other nonverbal communication behaviors.

Future research​ should proceed from the theoretical base upon which
previous research has been founded, since considerable research has
supported this theoretical formulation. Simply stated, these theoretical
propositions are as follows:

1. People vary in the degree to which they are apprehensive about

communication with other people.

2. People with high communication apprehension seek to avoid

communication.
3. People with high communication apprehension engage in less verbal
communication than do less apprehensive people.

4. When people with high communication apprehension do

communicate, their communication behaviors are different from those
people who are less apprehensive.

5. As a result of their communication behavior, high apprehensives are

perceived less positively by others than are less apprehensive people.

From these propositions we may deduce several testable hypotheses

relating to nonverbal communication behavior.

Personal Space.

People in close proximity are much more likely to interact than people
that are more distant from one another. Since high communication
apprehensives desire to avoid communication, we may hypothesize that
they will establish greater personal space distances both in a normal
interaction context and (as indicated in the housing study above) in their
general lifestyle patterns. This hypothesis, if confirmed, would suggest
an additional hypothesis. That is, high communication apprehensives
respond to personal space invasions at a greater distance than do people
with less communication apprehension.

Eye Contact.

The establishment of eye contact generally increases the probability of

communication attempts and the continuation of interaction between
people. Since high communication apprehensives wish to avoid
communication, we may hypothesize that they engage in less direct eye
contact and less prolonged eye contact than people with less
communication apprehension.

Touch.

The American culture is generally considered by researchers in the area

of nonverbal communication to be a low-touch culture. In addition,
touch is often considered to be one of the most intimate forms of
interpersonal communication. Since high communication apprehensives
wish to avoid communication, we may hypothesize that they are even
more averse to being touched than the average person within the culture.
Similarly, we may hypothesize that high communication apprehensives
are less likely to initiate touching behavior than are people with less
communication apprehension.

Vocal Behavior.

Since people with high communication apprehension have been

observed to engage in verbal communication behaviors that are different
from behaviors of people who are less apprehensive, we may
hypothesize that this difference would also be manifested in the vocal
behavior of high communication apprehensives. Specifically, since vocal
variety is highly communicative, we may hypothesize that high
communication apprehensives will have less vocal variety in their oral
communication than will people with less communication apprehension.

Kinestic Behavior.

Since kinesic behavior is highly communicative and the communication

behavior of high communication apprehensives has been found to differ
from that of people with less communication apprehension, we may
hypothesize that there are two differences in kinesic behavior of high
communication apprehensives. First, high communication apprehensives
have fewer kinesic movements than people with less communication
apprehension. Second, the kinesic behaviors in which high
communication apprehensives do engage are more constrained than the
kinesic behaviors of people with less communication apprehension.

Pause Time.

Within each culture there is a normative pattern for the amount of time
for pauses in interpersonal interaction. If person A pauses for that
normative period, person B is highly likely to initiate the next interaction
or response. Since people with high communication apprehension seek
to avoid communication and engage in less verbal communication than
people with less communication apprehension, we may hypothesize that
normative pause time in interpersonal interaction for high
communication apprehensives is longer than for people with less
communication apprehension.

These hypotheses do not exhaust the possible relationships between

communication apprehension and nonverbal communication behavior,
nor are they intended to. Rather, we propose these hypotheses as
suggested directions for future research. These hypothesis might also
serve an heuristic function for the generation of additional hypotheses.
For example, if any of these hypotheses are subsequently confirmed
through research, it would deductively follow that the differences
observed should have a differential impact on perceptions of high and
low communication apprehensives on the part of other people.
Such hypotheses, however, must await results indicating that such
differences as those hypothesized above actually exist. The phenomenon
of communication apprehension is one that has undoubtedly existed for
centuries, but intensive research in this area is still in its first decade.
From research which has been reported to date, it is reasonable to
speculate that communication apprehension may be the single most
significant variable in the interpersonal communication behavior of
many people.

If this is true, communication apprehension would most certainly have a

major impact on nonverbal communication behavior. Future research on
the relationship between communication apprehension and nonverbal
communication behavior has high promise for producing meaningful
results that will contribute to the advancement of human communication
theory.
Conclusion

● Communication apprehension (CA) refers to the

predisposition to avoid communication if possible or
experience anxiety when forced to communicate.
● Report summarizes recent research on communication
apprehension indicating the breadth of the impact of this handicap
in interpersonal communication.
● Drawing upon theoretical propositions generated from previous
research, it provides suggestions for future research on the impact
of communication apprehension on nonverbal elements in
interpersonal communication.
Sources & References

1. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/sac-businesscommunication/chapter/13-4-report/
2. https://www.slideshare.net/pptgroupone/report-of-introduction-to-communication
3. https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/what-is-communication.html
4. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258439890_Communication_Apprehension_A_
Barrier_to_Students'_Leadership_Adaptability_and_Multicultural_Appreciation
5. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/08824096.2017.1368474
6. https://communicationstudies.wvu.edu/faculty-and-staff/professors-emeriti/james-mccros
key
7. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1468-2958.1977.tb00599.x
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communication_apprehension
9. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/240519083_Communication_apprehension_and
_learning_style_preference_Correlations_and_implications_for_teaching