Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

12-1981

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Education

Major Professor

Naomi M Meara

Committee Members

Robert Williams, Robert Ambler,

Abstract

Self-efficacy theory states that psychological treatments, regardless of form, alter level and strength of self-efficacy. The purpose of this study was to test Bandura's (1977) self-efficacy theory in the context of performance-based treatments for public speaking anxiety. The subjects were 106 undergraduate students divided into three groups. Group I was composed of 39 speech anxious subjects in a specialized class for speech anxious students. Group II was composed of 34 speech anxious subjects from standard introductory public speaking classes. Group III was composed of 34 speech anxious subjects from classes wherein minimal or no performance of public speaking was required. Subjects in all groups completed self-report measures of anxiety and self-efficacy. Subjects in Groups I and II responded to an additional subjective measure on self-assessed mastery. Speeches by Group I subjects were rated for degree of skill and mastery by a behavioral measure. The major findings of this study were that: (a) strength and, to a lesser extent, level of efficacy expectations regarding public speaking were affected significantly by the performance-based treatments for public speaking; (b) no clear inverse relationship was shown to exist between self-efficacy and anxiety; (c) persistence in performing, regardless of self-assessed mastery, leads to increased self-efficacy expectations; (d) in the presence of a performance-based treatment program cue-controlled relaxation training provided no additional enhancement of efficacy expectations; (e) the independence of self-efficacy expectations from skill was supported. The results of this study did not provide information regarding the influence of mastery on self-efficacy expectations. The results are discussed in light of self-efficacy theory and recommendations for future research are made.

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