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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

The development of the virtual reality system for the treatment of the fears of public speaking.

The fear of public speaking is a kind of social phobias. The patients having the fear of public speaking show some symptoms like shame and timidity in the daily personal relationship. They are afraid that the other person would be puzzled, feel insulted, and they also fear that they should be underestimated for their mistakes. For the treatment of the fear of public speaking, the cognitive-behavioral therapy has been generally used. The cognitive-behavioral therapy is the method that makes the patients gradually experience some situations inducing the fears and overcome those at last. Recently, the virtual reality technology has been introduced as an alternative method for providing phobic situations. In this study, we developed the public speaking simulator and the virtual environments for the treatment of the fear of public speaking. The head-mounted display, the head-tracker and the 3 dimensional sound system were used for the immersive virtual environment. The imagery of the virtual environment consists of a seminar room and 8 virtual audiences. The patient will speak in front of these virtual audiences and the therapist can control motions, facial expressions, sounds, and voices of each virtual audience.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy↗
PubMed1995

Conditioning theory: a model for the etiology of public speaking anxiety?

To study the etiology of public speaking anxiety (speech phobia), 30 Ss with the fear of public speaking, and 24 controls without this fear were asked about past public speaking experiences, their beliefs about the main reason for their phobia, and their concerns in the feared situation. All speech phobics met the DSM-III-R criteria for social phobia. Results showed that traumatic external events, vicarious and informational learning--the causes for phobia that fit in best with Rachman's conditioning theory--were notably uncommon among these phobics, who attributed their fear most often to panic attacks. Yet it was not clear whether panic attacks were causes or consequences of phobia.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

[Are psychophysiologic changes in the "public speaking" paradigm an expression of emotional stress?].

Public Speaking is often used to induce anxiety. The emotional stress elicited by the anticipation of delivering a public speech, however, is usually confounded with the mental stress of speech preparation. In order to separate the effects of the emotional from those of the mental stress factor, only half of the subjects were informed about the topic of the speech at the beginning of the anticipation period, whereas the other half were told about the topic at a later time. In a pilot study, the effects of this variation were tested under a condition in which the subjects were told that the speech would be videotaped as an anxiety-provoking and under an emotionally neutral control condition. The main experiment involved an additional condition with a simulated audience designed to intensify the impact of the emotional stress component ("strong anxiety"). Self-reports on present state and cardio-vascular and electrodermal responses were measured in n = 12 subjects in both studies. Knowledge of the speech topic did not affect the subjective anxiety-inducing effects of public speaking. Physiologically arousing effects, however, could be shown without knowledge of the topic only in some variables and only under the "strong anxiety"-provoking condition. In studying public speaking anxiety, confounding with the mental stress of speech preparation should therefore be avoided and a more differentiated interpretation of the physiological effects should be made.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Cardiovascular and neuroendocrine adjustment to public speaking and mental arithmetic stressors.

In this study, we evaluated cardiovascular, neuroendocrine, and psychological adjustment to repeated presentations of a public speaking and a mental arithmetic task. Brief versions of mental arithmetic tasks have been used widely in previous reactivity studies, and growing attention to more socially salient tasks has led to the increased use of public speaking tasks. However, psychophysiological adjustment during extended and repeated exposure to these tasks has not been delineated. In the present study, 52 healthy men worked on three 8-min presentations of public speaking and of mental arithmetic in a repeated measure design. Both tasks produced substantial cardiovascular, adrenocorticotropic hormone, and cortisol responses; public speaking produced greater changes. Repeated presentations of public speaking produced a stable pattern of cardiac activation, whereas repetitions of the mental arithmetic initially produced large cardiac responses that changed to a more vascular tonus across task periods. Both tasks increased negative moods. However, correlations between the endocrine, cardiovascular, and negative moods were significant only during the public speaking stressor. The public speaking task is a socially relevant experimental protocol for studying reactivity in the laboratory setting and elicits relatively high, stable, and homogeneous responses.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗
PubMed1982

Simulated public speaking as a model of clinical anxiety.

Normal male volunteers took single acute doses of either diazepam or placebo under double-blind conditions in three simulated public speaking experiments. Measures of palmar sweating and subjective anxiety showed that anticipation of speaking in public increased anxiety relative to baseline and prestress conditions, and performance of public speaking further increased anxiety. A dose-related anxiolytic effect of diazepam on subjective anxiety supported the model's clinical relevance. Moreover, the intensity of the subject's public speaking phobia predicted both degree of prestress anxiety relief from 10 mg diazepam and overall anxiety level, regardless of medication, throughout the experimental session. A measure of traditionalism predicted placebo and 5 mg diazepam response during prestress: As in previous clinical trials, high traditionalism scorers reported more relief from placebo, whereas low scorers showed more relief from diazepam.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Public-speaking fears in a community sample. Prevalence, impact on functioning, and diagnostic classification.

BACKGROUND: Recent epidemiologic studies have revealed that social phobia is more prevalent than has been previously believed. An unresolved issue is the extent to which public-speaking fears constitute a recognizable form of social phobia in a community sample and, moreover, to what extent these fears are associated with functional morbidity. METHODS: To examine the prevalence and impact of public-speaking fears and their relationship to social phobia in a community sample, we conducted a randomized telephone survey of 499 residents of Winnipeg, Manitoba, a medium-sized midwestern metropolitan area. RESULTS: One third of the respondents reported that they had excessive anxiety when they spoke to a large audience. The onset of fears was early (ie, 50%, 75%, and 90% by the ages of 13, 17, and 20 years, respectively). Anxious cognitions about public speaking included the following fears: doing or saying something embarrassing (64%), one's mind going blank (74%), being unable to continue talking (63%), saying foolish things or not making sense (59%), and trembling, shaking, or showing other signs of anxiety (80%). In total, 10% (n = 49) of the respondents reported that public-speaking anxiety had resulted in a marked interference with their work (2%), social life (1%), or education (4%), or had caused them marked distress (8%). Twenty-three persons (5%) had public-speaking anxiety in isolation (ie, without evidence of additional kinds of social fears). CONCLUSIONS: These data support the inclusion of severe forms of public-speaking fears within the social phobia construct and, furthermore, suggest that public-speaking anxiety may have a detrimental impact on the lives of many individuals in the community.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Brief virtual reality therapy for public speaking anxiety.

The primary goal of this research program was to investigate the effectiveness of virtual reality therapy (VRT) in reducing public speaking anxiety of university students. The prevalence and impact of public speaking anxiety as a type of Social Phobia are discussed. Studies of VRT as an emerging treatment for psychological problems are reviewed. In the present study, eight students completed VRT individual treatment and post-testing, and six students in a Wait-List control group completed post-testing. Assessment measures included four self-report inventories, self-report of Subjective Units of Discomfort during exposure to VRT and physiological measurements of heart rate during speaking tasks. Four weekly individual exposure treatment sessions of approximately 15 min each were conducted by the author serving as therapist. Results on self-report and physiological measures appear to indicate that four virtual reality treatment sessions were effective in reducing public speaking anxiety in university students, corroborating earlier studies of VRT's effectiveness as a psychotherapeutic modality. Future research directions are discussed, primarily the need for research on younger populations, to assess the effectiveness of VRT for earlier intervention with public speaking anxiety.

Anxiety↗
PubMed2002

Attenuated heart rate responses to public speaking in individuals with alcohol dependence.

BACKGROUND: Because individuals with alcohol dependence (AD) have shown blunted cortisol responses to psychological stress, we assessed whether they also show attenuated cardiovascular responses. This study examined the cardiovascular responses of people meeting DSM-IV criteria for AD to orthostasis and public speaking. METHODS: Heart rate (HR), stroke volume, cardiac output, total peripheral resistance, mean arterial pressure, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure during orthostasis and public speaking were assessed by use of impedance cardiography and Dinamap blood pressure monitoring in 20 AD subjects abstinent for 21 to 28 days and in 10 age-matched controls. Orthostasis consisted of standing, whereas public speaking involved preparing and presenting two speeches. Self-reported mood state was also assessed during the tasks. RESULTS: AD subjects had significantly lower resting BP compared with controls. Cardiovascular responses to orthostasis were similar between groups. AD subjects had attenuated HR during public speaking but reported similar anxiety responses to controls. CONCLUSIONS: Comparable cardiovascular responses to orthostasis in controls and AD subjects suggest intact reflex control of circulation. AD subjects had blunted HR responses to public speaking; this is consistent with the attenuated cortisol responses observed in this sample and in previous studies. This suggests a possible alteration in limbic system regulation of hypothalamic and brainstem responses to psychological stress. Cardiovascular responses of AD subjects that are inconsistent with subjective accounts of tension and anxiety suggest a disconnection between perception of threat and resulting physiologic responses in AD subjects.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Virtual Reality Therapy: case study of fear of public speaking.

The major goal of this research case study was to investigate the effectiveness of Virtual Reality Therapy (VRT) in the treatment of the fear of public speaking. A twenty-eight-year-old Caucasian male was selected from questionnaires distributed to a class of undergraduate students enrolled at Kennesaw State University. Two assessment measures were used in this study. The first measure used was the Attitude Towards Public Speaking (ATPS) Questionnaire. The second measure used was the eleven-point Subjective Units of Disturbance (SUD) scale. These measurements assessed the anxiety, avoidance, attitudes and disturbance associated with the subject's fear of public speaking before and after each VRT treatment session. This case study of public speaking fear indicates that VRT may be used as an effective treatment method for reducing self-reported anxiety.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Behavioral assessment of public-speaking anxiety using a modified version of the Social Performance Rating Scale.

The current study aimed to extend the evaluation of the utility of the Social Performance Rating Scale (SPRS) [Behav. Res. Ther. 36 (1998) 995]. We examined the utility of a modified SPRS for the behavioral assessment of public-speaking anxiety among patients with social phobia (n = 49). The videotaped performance of public-speaking fearful patients in a public-speaking task was rated using four of the five SPRS ratings and was compared to global ratings by patients and observers, as well as to self-report and clinician-administered measures of social anxiety. The pattern of correlations with criterion measures of social anxiety provided evidence for the convergent and divergent validity of this modified SPRS for the behavioral assessment of public-speaking anxiety.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

[Public speaking: viewpoint of master's students of nursing].

Communication is a basic element of Nursing; still, speaking in public can be a frightening experience for many nurses. This article intends to study the emotions felt by Master's students in Nursing, identifying how they plan their presentation and what they consider important enough to reveal to the public. Fifty nurses who were enrolled in the Master's program at EEUSP participated in the study. Data was collected through a questionnaire utilizing open-answer questions. Results showed that anxiety was the most frequent emotion related by them. In the planning of a presentation, however confidence in the content of the speaker's text was the most important aspect, while speaking clearly appeared as the most valued characteristic in general.

Anxiety↗
PubMed2003

The white-coat effect is unrelated to the difference between clinic and daytime blood pressure and is associated with greater reactivity to public speaking.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the blood pressure (BP) response to doctor's visit with the BP reaction to a psycho-social challenge and with the difference between clinic and daytime BP (DeltaC-D). SUBJECTS: We studied 64 young stage-1 hypertensive subjects and 33 normotensive controls. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Relationship between direct and surrogate measure of white-coat effect (WCE) and assessment of BP response to public speaking in subjects with normal or increased reaction to BP measurement. METHODS: The responses to BP measurement by a doctor and to public speaking were assessed with beat-to-beat Finapres recording. DeltaC-D was calculated on the basis of two BP monitorings and used as a surrogate measure of WCE. RESULTS: BP and heart rate changes elicited by the visit were unrelated to DeltaC-D and were correlated to the changes caused by the speech test [P <0.001 for systolic BP (SBP), P = 0.01 for diastolic BP (DBP), and P <0.001 for heart rate]. Hypertensive subjects with SBP response to doctor's visit above the median (hyper-reactive) showed increased reactivity also to public speaking (61 +/- 15 mmHg), while those with BP response below the median (normo-reactive) had a response to the psycho-social challenge (40 +/- 21 mmHg, 0.001 versus hyper-reactive) similar to that of the normotensive controls (38 +/- 17 mmHg). Epinephrine urinary output was greater in the hyper-reactive than the normo-reactive subjects (23 versus 12 microg/24 h, = 0.01). The SBP response to public speaking was greater in the hypertensive subjects with higher systolic daytime BP than in those with lower daytime BP (55.3 +/- 20.9 versus 45.1 +/- 20.6 mmHg, = 0.046). CONCLUSIONS: Subjects with increased WCE have an exaggerated response also to psycho-social stimuli. Average daytime BP, which incorporates the BP reactions to many psycho-social triggers can, thus, not be taken as the basal BP of an individual. This helps explain why DeltaC-D does not reflect the true WCE.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Speech disturbances and gaze behavior during public speaking in subtypes of social phobia.

Twenty-four social phobics with public speaking anxiety and 25 nonphobic individuals (controls) gave a speech in front of two people. Subjective anxiety, gaze behavior, and speech disturbances were assessed. Based on subjects' fear ratings of social situations, phobics and controls were divided into the generalized and nongeneralized subtype. Results showed that generalized phobics reported the most, and nongeneralized controls the least anxiety during public speaking. All subjects had longer and more frequent eye contact when delivering a speech than when talking with an experimenter or sitting in front of an audience. Phobics showed more filled pauses, had longer silent pauses, paused more frequently, and spent more time pausing than controls when giving a speech. Generalized phobics spent more time pausing during their speech than the other subgroups (nongeneralized controls, generalized controls, and nongeneralized phobics). These results suggest that generalized phobics tended to shift attentional resources from speech production to other cognitive tasks.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

DSM-III-R subtypes of social phobia. Comparison of generalized social phobics and public speaking phobics.

Social phobic patients who fear most or all social interaction situations are labeled generalized social phobics in DSM-III-R. Thirty-five patients who met this criterion were compared with 22 social phobic patients whose fears were restricted to public speaking situations. Generalized social phobics were younger, less educated, and less likely to be employed, and their phobias were rated by clinical interviewers as more severe than those of public speaking phobics. Generalized social phobics appeared more anxious and more depressed and expressed greater fears concerning negative social evaluation. They performed more poorly on individualized behavioral tests and differed from public speaking phobics in their responses to cognitive assessment tasks. The two groups showed marked differences in their patterns of heart rate acceleration during the behavioral test. The implications of these findings for the classification and treatment of social phobic individuals are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Audience status moderates the effects of social support and self-efficacy on cardiovascular reactivity during public speaking.

Exaggerated blood pressure responses to stress are implicated in the development of cardiovascular disease, and an effort has been made to identify factors associated with such responses. One situational factor that impacts cardiovascular responses to stress is the presence of other people and their behavior. Here, we manipulated the status of the audience during a stressful public speaking task to explore its impact on reactivity and its possible role in moderating the effects of the speaker's confidence and the audience's response during the speech. Sixty-four normotensive female undergraduates, classified as having high or low self-efficacy for public speaking, gave a 5-min speech to an audience that responded positively or negatively. Half of the audiences were presented as public speaking experts and half as novices. Cardiovascular reactivity was greater for low-efficacy speakers and for those receiving positive feedback. Reactivity was also greater facing an expert audience. Furthermore, the effects of both self-efficacy and audience feedback were intensified before an expert audience. To understand social support effects, we must attend not only to characteristics of the recipient but also to those of the provider.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Cerebral blood flow during anticipation of public speaking in social phobia: a PET study.

BACKGROUND: The aim was to examine the neural correlates of anxiety elicited by the anticipation of public speaking in individuals with social phobia. Positron emission tomography and (15)O-water was used to measure regional cerebral blood flow in subjects with DSM-IV defined social phobia during anxiety anticipation. Heart rate and subjective anxiety were also recorded. While being scanned, subjects were speaking alone either before or after speaking in public. To evaluate anticipatory anxiety we compared individuals speaking alone before they were speaking in front of an audience with those who did the reverse. RESULTS: Heart rate and subjective anxiety measures confirmed anticipatory anxiety in social phobics who performed their private speech before their public. This was accompanied by enhanced cerebral blood flow in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, left inferior temporal cortex, and in the left amygdaloid-hippocampal region. Brain blood flow was lower in the left temporal pole and bilaterally in the cerebellum in the anticipation group. CONCLUSIONS: Brain regions with altered perfusion presumably reflect changes in neural activity associated with worry about anticipated public performance. We speculate that anticipatory anxiety in social phobics originates in an affect sensitive fear network encompassing the amygdaloid-hippocampal region, prefrontal, and temporal areas.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Personality correlates of anxiety about public speaking.

McCroskey (1982) has hypothesized that there are various forms of apprehension about communication some of which are situation specific and some of which are best thought of as traits. Other research has established a relationship between personality variables and a trait conception of apprehension about communication. If McCroskey's distinction between trait and situation-based state is appropriate, personality variables ordinarily associated with trait apprehension about communication should not correlate as highly with forms defined as more situation specific, such as anxiety about public speaking. Multiple regressions were performed using trait measures of apprehension about communication (the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension) and situation-based anxiety (the public speaking factor of the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension) as dependent variables. As hypothesized, contributions of personality were less for trait than situation-specific apprehension about communication. The inclusion of self-monitoring as a moderator variable added additional information about the contributions of personality to situation-specific apprehension about communication, with personality being more predictive of apprehension about public speaking for low self-monitors.

Anxiety↗