Public speaking anxiety is associated with poorer judged speech performance only among individuals low in attentional control¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · associational r1–r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2012 · checked against its sources 2026-10-19 (automated, 2 of 2 entries) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? The negative association between measured public speaking anxiety and judged speech quality is statistically significant only at low levels of attentional control (ACS values of 2.59 or less); anxiety was measured, not manipulated, so this is a moderated association, not a causal effect. → Jones Christopher R. 2012 q3 i? The negative association between measured public speaking anxiety and speech length is statistically significant only at low levels of attentional control (ACS values at or lower than 2.60), with a marginal interaction (p < .06). → Jones Christopher R. 2012 (2)

Evidence¶

Jones Christopher R. 2012¶

Jones Christopher R., Fazio Russell H., Vasey Michael W. (2012). Attentional Control Buffers the Effect of Public Speaking Anxiety on Performance. Social Psychological and Personality Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550611430166

q3 · i? · associational · r2

Regression analysis in the Results section of a two-session study of 61 undergraduates who gave a three-minute videotaped speech. Mean-centered ACS, PRCS, and their interaction predicted judges' ratings of speech quality. The interaction was significant, "b = .17, t(57) = 2.41, p = .02", and Johnson-Neyman probing showed the anxiety slope was negative and significant only at low ACS. Anxiety and attentional control were measured as individual differences, so the study shows an association, not that anxiety causes poorer performance.

"On the primary dependent variable, judges’ ratings of speech quality, an interaction between ACS and PRCS was obtained: b = .17, t(57) = 2.41, p = .02."

Jones Christopher R. 2012 (2)¶

Jones Christopher R., Fazio Russell H., Vasey Michael W. (2012). Attentional Control Buffers the Effect of Public Speaking Anxiety on Performance. Social Psychological and Personality Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550611430166

q3 · i? · associational · r1

Regression analysis in the Results section predicting seconds of speech from mean-centered ACS, PRCS, and their interaction in the same 61-participant sample. The interaction was marginal, "b = 3.25, t(57) = 1.92, p < .06", and probing showed the negative association of anxiety with speech length was significant only at ACS values at or below 2.60. Both predictors were measured, not manipulated, so this is not a causal effect.

"An interaction emerged between ACS and PRCS: b = 3.25, t(57) = 1.92, p < .06 (see Figure 2)."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Academic Anxiety — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes
• Attention — moderator: an instructional effect differs with it

Related Claims¶

• Speech length mediates the anxiety-to-judged-quality link only for individuals low in attentional control — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Attentional shifting, but not focusing, significantly moderates the effect of speech anxiety on judged quality — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Greater public speaking anxiety correlates with shorter and more poorly received speeches — related
• Speakers rate their own speeches more harshly than independent judges do — related
• Number of rubric sessions interacts negatively with mean age: intervention length matters less for older students — related