<p>This exploratory study examined the relationship between public speaking anxiety levels indicated by scores on the Personal Report of Confidence as a Speaker questionnaire (PRCS: Paul, 1966) and evaluation probability on a wide domain of evaluation items reflected by scores on the Audience Attention Allocation questionnaire (devised for the purpose of this study). A large student sample (n=220) completed the PRCS as well as the AAA questionnaire. The AAA assessed the perceived allocation of the attentional resources of the audience members during a speech by asking respondents to rate how probable it is that a speaker is evaluated on a set of domains. The results of regression analyses indicated that AAA scores, Gender, and Study year were significant predictors of PRCS scores accounting for 8.5% of the variance. More interestingly, the nature of results obtained was contrary to the hypothesis of the study. It was in fact revealed that subjects scoring low on the AAA questionnaire, indicating less likelihood that audience members make evaluations about the speaker on a variety of items, tended to have higher anxiety scores. The results are discussed in terms of defense mechanisms and response bias.</p>

Thesis (D. Min.)--Dallas Theological Seminary, 2007. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 263-273).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Dallas Theological Seminary, 2007. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 263-273).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1999. / Title from electronic submission form. Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin, 1950. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Bibliography: 367-374.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T12:59:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 2717397 bytes, checksum: 9b595c87b494e8dd776ae15a3beac7f1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-10-21 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Anxiety is an adaptive response of organism to situations that life presents, and driving performance with personal and psychological as well as physiological components. It is considered pathological when it causes suffering to the individual, bringing him damage in terms of injury avoidance behaviors and avoidance important situations in his academic, social and professional life. The pathological manifestations of anxiety are grouped as Anxiety Disorders. Several pharmacological classes are used to treat this group of disorders, especially benzodiazepines and antidepressants. However, the pattern of adverse reactions, the possibility of tolerance and dependence as well as abuse potential of benzodiazepines, added to slow response of antidepressant treatment, justify the search for new therapeutic possibilities. Preclinical studies have attested the anxiety-relieving activity of the roots extract of Panax ginseng C. A Meyer. Its ethnopharmacological use for anxiety is evident worldwide. The aim of this study was to test the therapeutic efficacy of the extract of the roots of P. ginseng in the acute treatment of experimentally induced anxiety in healthy volunteers and identify adverse effects caused by its use. The study population consisted of university students, aged between 18 and 30 years. We selected 60 healthy volunteers who met the study inclusion criteria. We developed a clinical double-blind, randomized, controlled, acute essay. The substances used were: P. ginseng (200 mg), diazepam (10 mg) and placebo. Anxiety was experimentally elicited through Simulation Test of Public Speaking, and evaluated through the use of physiological measures (blood pressure, heart pulse rate, ends temperature and skin electrical conductance) and psychometric scales (trait-state anxiety inventory and analog mood scale). The results were analyzed using several statistical, parametric and nonparametric methods. They showed that the extract of the roots of P. ginseng intensifies anxiety, especially during performance test and has a minor ability to reduce it in the final phase, with greater significance demonstrated through psychological measures. Although well tolerated, P. ginseng has not demonstrated effectiveness in controlling anxiety and subjective signs and symptoms associated with it. / A ansiedade é uma resposta adaptativa do organismo às situações que a vida apresenta, sendo propulsora do desempenho pessoal e com componentes psicológicos e fisiológicos. É considerada patológica quando provoca sofrimento ao indivíduo, trazendo-lhe prejuízo em função dos comportamentos de fuga e esquiva de situações importantes da vida acadêmica, social e profissional. As manifestações da ansiedade patológica são agrupadas nos transtornos de Ansiedade. Várias classes farmacológicas são utilizadas no tratamento deste grupo de transtorno, destacando-se os benzodiazepínicos e antidepressivos. Entretanto, o padrão de reações adversas, a possibilidade de dependência e tolerância e o potencial de abuso dos benzodiazepínicos, adicionado a lenta resposta terapêutica dos antidepressivos, justificam a busca de novas possibilidades terapêuticas. Estudos pré-clínicos atestaram a atividade ansiolítica do extrato das raízes do Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer. Seu uso etnofarmacológico para ansiedade é evidenciado em todo mundo. O objetivo deste estudo foi testar a eficácia terapêutica do extrato das raízes do P. ginseng no tratamento agudo da ansiedade induzida de maneira experimental em voluntários saudáveis e identificar os efeitos adversos provocados pelo seu uso. A população do estudo foi constituída por estudantes universitários, com idade entre 18 e 30 anos. Foram selecionados 60 voluntários saudáveis, que atenderam aos critérios de inclusão do estudo. Foi desenvolvido um ensaio clínico duplo-cego, randômico, controlado e agudo. As substâncias utilizadas foram: P. ginseng (200 mg), Diazepam (10 mg) e Placebo. A ansiedade foi produzida de modo experimental, através do Teste de Simulação de Falar em Público e avaliada mediante o uso de medidas fisiológicas (pressão arterial, frequência cardíaca, temperatura de extremidades e condutância elétrica da pele) e escalas psicométricas (Inventário de ansiedade traço-estado e escala analógica do humor). Os resultados foram analisados utilizando vários métodos estatísticos paramétricos e não-paramétricos. Eles demonstraram que o extrato das raízes de P. ginseng intensifica a ansiedade, principalmente na fase de performance do Teste e apresenta menor capacidade de reduzi-lá na fase final, demonstrado com maior significância através das medidas psicológicas. Embora bem tolerado, P. ginseng não demonstrou eficácia no controle subjetivo da ansiedade e de alguns sinais e sintomas a ela associados.

Although public speaking anxiety is one of the most commonly reported causes of both clinical and non-clinical anxiety, many of the currently used questionnaire measures of public speaking anxiety do not reflect the advances made in recent decades regarding empirical methods of test construction, including item generation and determination of subscale composition. The current study administered 35 empirically-generated cognitive self-statement items related to speaking anxiety to a sample of 367 undergraduate students along with measures of public speaking anxiety, fear of negative evaluation, generalized social anxiety behaviors, and self-consciousness tendencies. Using exploratory factor analysis and item-total correlations, participant responses to the 35 self-statement items were examined, producing the 30-item Speaking Cognitions and Attention Scale (SCAS). Data indicated that in the current sample the SCAS displayed a three-factor solution, with factors composed of items reflecting positive self-statements, negative self-statements, and catastrophic self-statements. The scale also demonstrated excellent internal reliability, with alphas in the range of .90 to .97. Discriminant validity analyses supported the specificity of the measure in measuring public speaking anxiety by correlating highly with another measure of speaking anxiety, at a moderate level with measures of general social anxiety, and at a small level with a measure of self-consciousness with no theoretical relationship to speaking anxiety. Results are discussed with respect to implications of the current findings for questionnaire measurement of public speaking anxiety, needed future directions in further validation of the measure, and potential applications for treatment of public speaking anxiety.

abstract: This dissertation study quantitatively measured the performance of 345 students who received public speaking instruction through an online platform presented in one of six experimental conditions in order to explore the ability of online lectures to replicate the characteristics of instructor presence and learner interaction traditionally associated with face-to-face public speaking courses. The study investigated the following research questions: RQ1: How does the visibility of an instructor in a public speaking video lesson affect students' perception of presence? RQ2: How does the visibility of an instructor in a public speaking video lesson affect student learning? RQ3: How do self-explanation (Constructive) and note-taking (Active) types of learning activities affect students' perception of presence compared to passive lessons when presented in a video lesson? RQ4: How do self-explanation (Constructive) and note-taking (Active) types of learning activities affect student learning compared to passive lessons when presented in a video lesson? Additionally, the study collected qualitative feedback from participants on their experience in order to improve understanding of how to effectively design lectures for public speaking courses. Results of the study were unable to statistically distinguish between students assigned to treatments that varied in both modality and level of activity. However, a significant finding of this study is that learning gains and students' perception of instructor presence were positive across all conditions. The lack of significant differences by treatment indicates that the design attributes at the center of the study may be unnecessary considerations for developing content for online learning. Consequently, the improved performance of participants regardless of their assigned treatment in this study identifies a limitation to the application of Media Equation Theory and the Interactive-Constructive-Active-Passive (ICAP) Framework for designing online learning content for public speaking students as well as identifies two key implications: 1) exposure to an online lesson can increase learning; and 2) exposure to an online lesson can serve as a cost-effective alternative for producing lessons in public speaking courses. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Technology 2014

Introdução: A ocitocina (OT) é um nonapeptídeo sintetizado nos núcleos paraventricular e supraóptico do hipotálamo. Quando liberada perifericamente pela neurohipófise, a OT atua como um hormônio e promove a liberação do leite durante a lactação e a contração uterina no parto. No entanto, quando liberada centralmente, a OT age como um neurotransmissor ou neuromodulador de diversos processos, tal como na modulação da ansiedade e na regulação das respostas neuroendócrina e cardiovascular. Sendo assim, o presente trabalho tem como objetivo avaliar os efeitos agudos da administração intranasal da OT na ansiedade em voluntários saudáveis submetidos ao Teste de Simulação de Falar em Público (TSFP), bem como seu papel na modulação das respostas neuroendócrina e hemodinâmica. Métodos: Ocitocina ou veículo foram administrados intranasalmente em voluntários saudáveis (n=14) 50 minutos antes do TSFP. Durante a sessão experimental foram realizadas as seguintes medidas: (1) basal (t = -30 min)), (2) pré-teste (t = -15 min), (3) preparação (t = +50 min), (4) desempenho (t = +1:03 h) , pós-teste 1 (t = 1:26 h) e pós-teste 2 (t = 1:46 h). Para a avaliação dos estados subjetivos de ansiedade foram utilizadas as seguintes escalas de auto-avaliação: 1.Escala Analógica de Humor; 2.Escala de Sintomas Corporais; 3. Versão de ?estado? da escala de auto-avaliação ao falar em público. Para a dosagem de cortisol sérico e ACTH plasmático foi utilizada a técnica de radioimunoensaio. Também foram realizadas as medidas de freqüência cardíaca, pressão arterial, condutância da pele e número de flutuações espontâneas da condutância da pele. Resultados: O grupo OT apresentou-se menos ansioso nas fases PT (p-valor = 0,03), com maior sedação nas fases PT (p-valor = 0,003), Pr (p-valor = 0,01) e S (p-valor = 0,02) e com nível de condutância da pele menor nas fases PT (p-valor = 0,02), Pr (p-valor = 0,02), S (p-valor = 0,03) e F2 (p-valor = 0,02). Nos outros parâmetros mensurados não foram encontradas diferenças intergrupos. Conclusão: O presente estudo sugere que a OT na dose de 24 UI possui ação na ansiedade antecipatória em voluntários saudáveis. Espera-se que este estudo contribua com o desenvolvimento de intervenções terapêuticas em transtornos de ansiedade e com o desenvolvimento de possíveis fármacos agonistas. / Introduction: Oxytocin is a nonapeptide that is synthesized in the hypothalamus paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei. When released peripherally by the neurohypophysis, it acts as a hormone that will promote milk ejection during lactation and uterine smooth muscle contraction during labor. However, when centrally released, OT acts as a neurotransmitter or neuromodulator of several processes, such as anxiety modulation and regulation of cardiovascular and neuroendocrine responses. The objective of this study was to assess the acute effect of OT, intranasally administered, on anxiety levels of healthy volunteers who submitted themselves to the Public Speaking Simulation Test as well as its role in the modulation of neuroendocrine and hemodynanic responses. Methods: Oxytocin, or vehicle, was intranasally administered to healthy volunteers (n= 14) fifty minutes before the Test. During the experimental session, the following assessments were performed: 1) Baseline (t = - 30 minutes); 2) Pre test (t = -15 minutes) ;3) Preparation ( t = + 50 minutes) ; 4) Performance ( t = + 1:03 hours) , and post test 1 ( t = 1:26 hours) and post test 2 ( t = 1:46 hours ). In order to evaluate anxiety subjective states, the following self-assessment scales were used: 1) Mood Analogical Scale, 2) Bodily Symptoms Scale, and 3) ?State? Self-Assessment Version of Public Speaking Scale. A radio immune assay was used for cortisol serum level and plasmatic ACTH measurements. Additionally, heart rate, blood pressure, skin conductance, and number of spontaneous fluctuations of skin conductance were checked. Results: The OT group was less anxious during the PT (p value =0, 03), with a higher sedation during the PT (p value = 0,003), Pr (p value = 0, 01), and S phases (p value = 0, 02) and a lower level of skin conductance during the PT (p value = 0,02), Pr ( p value = 0,02), S (p value = 0,03), and F2 phases ( p value = 0,02). As for the other parameters evaluated, no differences were found between the groups. Conclusions: The present study suggests that an OT dose of 24 UI acts on the anticipation anxiety of healthy volunteers. This study is expected to contribute to the development of therapeutical interventions in anxiety disorders as well as possible agonist drugs.

The classroom communication behavior of preservice teacher education students was the focus of this research. The study was designed to provide descriptive and empirical data for teacher educators to use in designing preservice and in-service training in classroom communication. Additionally, an interdisciplinary focus on research from the fields of interpersonal and instructional communication as applied to teacher education was emphasized. The sample for the study included 30 secondary and 29 elementary preservice teacher education students. The sample was stratified on the basis of the level of communication apprehension. A total of 30 high level apprehensive and 29 low level apprehensives were identified. The Personal Report of Communication Apprehension-24 (PRCA-24) was administered as a pre-posttest measure. Scores from the Communicator Style Measure (CSM) were analyzed with the PRCA—24. University supervisors and public school cooperating teachers completed a modified version of the CSM on two separate observation occasions.