Personal Report of Communication Apprehension

Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA-24) DIRECTIONS: This instrument is composed of twenty-four statements concerning feelings about communicating with other people. Please indicate the degree to which each statement applies to you by marking whether you (1) strongly agree, (2) agree, (3) are undecided, (4) disagree, or (5) strongly disagree. Work quickly; record your first impression. _____ 1. I dislike participating in group discussions. _____ 2. Generally, I am comfortable while participating in group discussions. _____ 3. I am tense and nervous while participating in group discussions. _____ 4. I like to get involved in group discussions. _____ 5. Engaging in a group discussion with new people makes me tense and nervous. _____ 6. I am calm and relaxed while participating in group discussions. _____ 7. Generally, I am nervous when I have to participate in a meeting. _____ 8. Usually I am calm and relaxed while participating in meetings. _____ 9. I am very calm and relaxed when I am called upon to express an opinion at a meeting. _____ 10. I am afraid to express myself at meetings. _____ 11. Communicating at meetings usually makes me uncomfortable. _____ 12. I am very relaxed when answering questions at a meeting. _____ 13. While participating in a conversation with a new acquaintance, I feel very nervous. _____ 14. I have no fear of speaking up in conversations. _____ 15. Ordinarily I am very tense and nervous in conversations. _____ 16. Ordinarily I am very calm and relaxed in conversations. _____ 17. While conversing with a new acquaintance, I feel very relaxed. _____ 18. I'm afraid to speak up in conversations. _____ 19. I have no fear of giving a speech. _____ 20. Certain parts of my body feel very tense and rigid while giving a speech. _____ 21. I feel relaxed while giving a speech. _____ 22. My thoughts become confused and jumbled when I am giving a speech. _____ 23. I face the prospect of giving a speech with confidence. _____ 24. While giving a speech, I get so nervous I forget facts I really know. Use the scoring formula that follows to calculate your PRCA-24. Then, please report your scores in the table below. Be sure to include your name and date of test. Student Name: Date: Group Discussions Meetings Interpersonal Conversations Public Speaking TOTAL SCORING: The PRCA permits computation of one total score and four sub-scores. The subscores are related to communication apprehension in each of four common communication contexts: group discussions, meetings, interpersonal conversations, and public speaking. To compute your scores merely add or subtract your scores for each item as indicated below. Sub-score Group discussion Meetings Interpersonal conversations Public speaking Scoring Formula 18 + scores for items 2, 4, and 6; - scores for items 1, 3, and 5. 18 + scores for items 8, 9, and 12; - scores for items 7, 10, and 11. 18 + scores for items 14, 16, and 17; - scores for items 13, 15, and 18. 18 + scores for items 19, 21, and 23; - scores for items 20, 22, and 24. INTERPRETATION: To obtain your total score for the PRCA, simply add your four sub-scores together. Your score should range between 24 and 120. If your score is below 24 or above 120, you have made a mistake in computing the score. Scores on the four contexts (groups, meetings, interpersonal conversations, and public speaking) can range from a low of 6 to a high of 30. Any score above 18 indicates some degree of apprehension. The average total score is 65. If you receive below 65, you have a lower level of communication apprehension than most people tested. [Actually, scores below 59 are somewhat abnormal since there are situations where one should experience apprehension.] For a total score of 72-79, you are generally more apprehensive about communication than the average person. For a total score of 80 or higher, you have a high level of communication apprehension.