User:LaCherie Wilcox/Communication apprehension

Communication apprehension is the level of anxiety triggered by the real or anticipated communication act, as defined by McCroskey. The idea 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. The term communication apprehension is usually connected with 'stage fright'; however, this response is not necessarily connected with a delivery on a stage or in front of a large audience. This anxiety can be caused by any of the four forms of communication: interpersonal, group, public, and mass communication. The most common and reliable test used to measure an individual’s CA level when exposed to these forms of communication is called the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension, also known as the PRCA-24 test, and it follows a survey format.

There are three typical behavioral patterns found in people who suffer from a high level of CA.

Communication avoidance can be seen when people lead their lives in a way that avoids any communication as it would bring them discomfort. For example, they will avoid jobs that involve a lot of communication or choose to live in areas where the chances of communication opportunities are lower.

The second behavioral pattern comes into play when people with CA are faced with a circumstance where they were not able to use communication avoidance. In this case, the individual would use communication withdrawal, which can be utter silence or the absolute minimal communication. Examples are only speaking when spoken to or to answer questions and keeping responses short. The nonverbal messages, including standing or sitting away from others, frowning, avoiding eye contacts and standing with arms folded, can signal to others that a person is not interested in communicating and tend to reduce communication initiation attempts from others.

The third behavioral pattern is communication disruption when a person with CA attempts to communicate, however, the discomfort is shown with their verbal disfluencies and poor communicative strategies. It happens when an attempt is made to take on an uncomfortable situation that involves communication. It is often shown in the form of influent and unnatural or inappropriate verbal and nonverbal behaviors, all reflecting their CA.