Week 3, Friday Lecture Outline

Shyness and Organizational
Communication

Week 3, Friday

Psychology 360

Outline

• I. Consequences of shyness
• II. Measuring reticence
• III. Overcoming reticence
• IV. Your term papers

Consequences of Shyness

• General:
  • less happy, lonely, delay marriage
• In organizational setting:
  • less career stability, lower achievement

Reticence: Reluctance to communicate

• desire to communicate
• verbalizing inhibited
• anxiety about participation in oral communication
• anxiety outweighs the projection of gain

Measuring Reticence

• an instance of a personality scale
• scales are questions that measure traits
• the value of a scale is determined by:
  • the scale's validity
  • the scale's reliability

A Scale to Measure Reticence

• Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA)
• Answer items using the following scale:

PRCA Items

• 1. I have no fear of facing an audience.
• 2. I look forward to expressing my opinions at meetings.
• 3. I look forward to speaking in public.
• 4. I find the prospect of speaking mildly pleasant.
• 5. I feel that I am more fluent when talking than others.

PRCA Items (cont)

• 6. Although I'm nervous before speaking, I soon forget my fears and enjoy the experience.
• 7. I feel relaxed and comfortable while speaking.
• 8. I do not feel self-conscious when speaking in class.
• 9. I would enjoy presenting a speech on a local TV show.
• 10. I face the prospect of making a speech with complete confidence.

Scoring your PRCA result

• 10 to 30 = low communication apprehension
• 30 to 40 = medium communication apprehension
• 40 to 50 = high communication apprehensive

Organizational implications

• level of communication affects attributions
• communication reveals skills and knowledge that improve task matching
• good task fit enhances effectiveness and efficiency

Overcoming reticence

• Interventions:
  • modify climate
  • systematic desensitization
• Technology:
  • electronic mail, reduces social cues

Some findings about e-mail use

• more equal than face-to-face
• takes longer to reach decisions than face-to-face
• decisions are riskier than face-to-face
• attenuates effects of status
• more flaming than in face-to-face

Avoiding term paper problems

• don't identify people by name, use pseudonyms
• get permission before observing organizations or talking to members of organizations
• don't describe episodes or incidents that will compromise the anonymity of your subjects
• don't reveal secret or proprietary information

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Copyright © 1996, The Regents of the University of Michigan, All rights reserved.
Revised - November 4, 1996