Communication Apprehension Across the Career Span

Abstract

Working adults engage in a variety of communication activities for their entire careers. Yet relatively, little has been established regarding whether or how average communication anxiety levels change over time, especially after college. The purpose of this study was to test communication anxiety levels across the career span. Age, levels of work experience, frequency in making presentations, and levels of communication apprehension as measured by the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA) were compared for college-educated adults, aged 20-72. They were also compared with mean PRCA scores developed by James McCroskey based on testing undergraduates. Levels of overall Communication Apprehension and Public Speaking Apprehension scores fell with age, years of full-time work, and frequency of making presentations. Only those reporting never presenting in the prior year had scores which aligned with McCroskey’s college student mean scores; all others were lower at the 0.000 level of significance.

Communication Apprehension: Evaluation of Use of the Indonesian Language Version of the PRCA-24 [Kecemasan Komunikasi: Evaluasi Penggunaan PRCA-24 Versi Bahasa Indonesia]

“…Previous research used the PRCA-24 to look at levels of CA of participants in the age range of 20 to 72 years. The said research showed the existence of a reduction of CA amongst groups of more mature participants (Marcel, 2019). The sources of evidence in this study were based upon the age range of 19 to 20 years.…”

“…Shortcomings in this research were that the subjects comprised only tertiary students from one faculty of only one tertiary educational institution. Later research may consider the use of participants from a more diverse age group (Marcel, 2019), or diverse ethnic or national groups (Croucher et al, 2019). Other shortcomings were the use of only three sources of evidence, i.e., internal structure, using reliability and the analysis of factors, together with connections to another variable, i.e., assertiveness.…”

“…Penelitian terdahulu menggunakan PRCA-24 untuk melihat tingkat CA pada partisipan dengan rentang usia 20 hingga 72 tahun. Penelitian tersebut menunjukkan adanya penurunan tingkat CA pada kelompok partisipan yang lebih dewasa (Marcel, 2019). Sumber bukti pada studi kali ini didasarkan pada kelompok usia 19-20 tahun.…”

“…Kelemahan dari penelitian ini adalah subjek hanya mencakup mahasiswa dari satu fakultas dan dari satu institusi perguruan tinggi. Penelitian selanjutnya dapat mempertimbangkan penggunaan partisipan yang lebih beragam dari kelompok usia (Marcel, 2019) atau kelompok etnis/kebangsaan yang beragam (Croucher et al, 2019). Kelemahan lainnya adalah hanya menggunakan tiga sumber bukti yaitu struktur internal dengan menggunakan reliabilitas dan analisis faktor, serta hubungan dengan variabel lain yaitu asertivitas.…”

Competitions Versus Classes: Exploring the Impact of Case Competitions and Communication Coursework on MBA Ranking

“…This finding suggests that, despite their typically older age and greater work experience, MBA students still would benefit from opportunities to develop their communication skills. Likewise, more frequent presenting among business professionals has been associated with reduced levels of communication apprehension (Marcel, in press), something coursework can be designed to foster.…”