Benjamin Abrams MAT 2013 Annotated Bibliography

Cunningham, V., Lefkoe, M., & Sechrest, L. (2006). Eliminating fears: an intervention that permanently eliminates the fear of public speaking. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 13(3), 183193. In this study, the authors apply the Lekfoe Stimulus Process to a group of 20 participants and examine their ability to overcome their fear of public speaking compared with a control group. The Lefkoe method is used to eliminate long-held beliefs by deconditioning stimuli that produce a fear response by explaining to someone that events have many possible interpretations but no real and negative meaning, such as the one they associate with the situation. Next, patients are shown that the stimulus never produced the reaction in the first place; they are only experiencing the fear response because they inappropriately assigned negative meaning to it. This article was useful in guiding my interventions because the authors offer methods of deconditioning stimuli that elicit a fear response, for example speaking with students about why they are afraid to present, having them explain past experiences presenting, and giving alternative interpretations of incidents. Whenever a student would say they did not want to present, I would take the time to discuss the reasons why with them and try to console them. The Lefkoe method has shown effective at reducing various types of anxieties, so I believe that these talks helped students overcome their fear of public speaking.

Finn, A. N., Sawyer, C. R., & Schrodt, P. (2009). Examining the effect of exposure therapy on public speaking state anxiety. Communication Education, 58(1), 92109. The authors of this study found that multiple exposures to public speaking performances effectively reduce participants anxiety and promote overall confidence during the four phases of delivering a speech (anticipation, confrontation, adaptation, and release). Additionally, Finn and Schrodt examine the role of emotional processing (the process by which emotional disturbances decline over time) within individuals who experience public speaking anxiety, and again found that repeated exposures aide the process. They also found that repeated exposure leads to habituation, meaning the negative association between a stimulus and event are progressively weakened. This article was useful in my intervention because it provides proof that multiple exposures to public speaking opportunities is a valid, effective, and useful way to reduce performance-based anxiety

Hancock, A. B., Stone, M. D., Brundage, S. B., & Zeigler, M. T. (2010). Public Speaking Attitudes: Does Curriculum Make a Difference? Journal of Voice, 24(3), 302307. Two undergraduate public speaking classes are compared to see if different types instruction yield different scores of self-perceived confidence, competence, and apprehension to public speaking. One course focused on vocal mechanisms and characteristics pitch, volume, rate, etc.) while the other was about how to outline, organize, and deliver a speech. The authors found both classes were able to significantly reduce apprehension and increase confidence; however there was no significant difference between the classes. This article provides support for my intervention because I did not take a lot of time addressing vocal characteristics and mechanisms- rather, I focused on how to create and deliver a successful presentation. This article

provided two interesting bits of information that I included in my PowerPoint; that the fear of public speaking can exist in isolation from other social anxieties, and that only 10% of high school students feel very comfortable giving a presentation. The first fact is important because it lends insight as to why social, friendly students seem to have trouble presenting. The second is important because it really illuminates the problem of public speaking in our high school students, and I believe the ability to develop and deliver a decent presentation says a lot about a students ability to organize, evaluate claims, construct knowledge, and summarize ideas.

Hindo, C. S., & Gonzlez-Prendes, A. A. (2011). One-session exposure treatment for social anxiety with specific fear of public speaking. Research on Social Work Practice, 21(5), 528538. The authors of this study wanted to determine whether multiple exposures to anxiety inducing situations can reduce an individuals level of public speaking anxiety, and whether these responses are maintained over time. Hindo and Gonzlez-Prendes suggest that individuals who fear public speaking avoid situations in which they are required to present, thereby strengthening their negative expectations reinforcing their beliefs. When required to present multiple times, people begin to learn that the catastrophic and dangerous outcomes they expect to happen never actually occur. The authors of this study found that their treatment group experienced significant reductions in levels of anxiety, and that these benefits lasted over time (one month, in the case of this study). This article is useful for my research project because it is another piece of evidence that multiple exposures to public speaking events is a valid and effective way to reduce anxiety. It also provides information regarding situation avoidance, which was a huge problem during the genetic disorder project presentations. I knew that if I

made presentations commonplace in the classroom, students would have no choice but to get in front of their peersand deliver a speech. I believe that multiple exposures took away the fear, foreignness, and highstakes mindset that many students attach to public speaking and allowed some students to overcome their fear.

Rikards-Schlichting, K.A. (2001). A self-modeling intervention for high school students with public speaking anxiety. (Doctoral Dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. (Accession Order No. [304689906]) The author of this dissertation employed a self-modeling method in order to address the fear of public speaking. Participants delivered a total of five three-minute speeches over the course of three weeks, and each presentation was videotaped and edited to create an individuals optimal performance. Rikards-Schlichting found that all participants experienced a significant reduction in anxious behaviors and an increase in confidence and comfort in giving a presentation. Due to time restraints I was unable to have each student self-model presentations, so instead I acted as the example for the entire class. Although I employed an adapted version of the self-model method, this article provides information regarding the benefits of having a live model, including learning through observation, replication of communication style, and changes in beliefs of self-efficacy by watching others in the fearful situation. Additionally, this author argues that models who experience some anxiety or issues with their performance are more influential than models who perform perfectly, which supports my presentation critique intervention. This article also provides the suggestion that a combination of skills training, systematic desensitization, and cognitive modification are most effective in reducing public speaking anxiety. This information was important in formulating my interventions, which, taken

together, include methods from these three categories.

Seim, R. W., Waller, S. A., & Spates, C. R. (2010). A preliminary investigation of continuous and intermittent exposures in the treatment of public speaking anxiety. International Journal of Behavioral Consultation and Therapy, 6(2), 8594. The authors of this study found that brief exposures to public speaking situations was more effective at reducing anxiety, physiological arousal (e.g. heart rate), and behavioral avoidance than prolonged exposures. Participants were divided into two groups; one that underwent prolonged exposure, and one that underwent dosed exposure (meaning short, intermittent, stretches of delivering a speech). Seim and Waller found all participants in the dosed group experienced a reduction in anxiety (according to the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA-24)) whereas only one member of the prolonged group reported a reduction in anxiety. This article was useful because it supports my BioBulletin. Students were required to give a short presentation at the beginning of class, and were even graded that their summary was less than three minutes long. If I had more time in the classroom, I would have started a new cycle of BioBulletin presentations, thereby allowing students multiple opportunities to present. This article also supports my use of frequent presentations in the classroom, which were short and averaged roughly three minutes each. I would only schedule one day for the entire class to present, meaning students had to be quick, efficient, and on point. By crunching a lot of presentations in a short time, I was able to avoid prolonged exposure and provide students with brief, recurring opportunities to present.

Vasey, M. W., Harbaugh, C. N., Buffington, A. G., Jones, C. R., & Fazio, R. H. (2012). Predicting return of fear following exposure therapy with an implicit measure of attitudes. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 50(12), 767774. In this article, Vasey et al. explore whether exposure therapy is a valid and effective means of reducing negative attitudes, improving skills, and reducing fears in the long term (so-called return of fear) for individuals who suffer from public speaking anxiety. To begin the study, participants completed four self-evaluated measures for levels of confidence, fear, anxiety, and perceived appearance. They then delivered a presentation and were judged by a panel of undergraduate research assistants and volunteers. One month later, they took the same assessments and delivered a second speech. The researchers found that participants recorded a significantly lower negative attitudes with regards to public speaking, improved measures on self-reported efficacy, and increased observer ratings of speech quality. They did, however, experience a return of fear phenomena, likely caused by their avoidance of public speaking situations or failure to seek out further exposure experiences. This article was useful because it provides evidence that repeated opportunities for public speaking help to not only reduce anxiety, but also to improve the quality of the speech. This is exactly what I observed in my second period class: the class average for the first presentation was a 47%, however after recurring exposure, the final presentation grade was 78.6%.