Assessing Motivation to Communicate - National Communication ...

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I. BACKGROUNDThis program contains two self-report instruments,both of which assess the motivational domain of communication,also referred to as the attitudinal or affectivedomain. In using either of these instruments, it ishelpful to understand the important role of motivationin the overall process of communicating competently.What is motivation as an important part ofcommunication competence?Communication is competent, which means of highquality, when it is both appropriate and effective forthe particular situation (Morreale, Spitzberg, & Barge,2006). Appropriate communication means that you actin ways suitable to the norms and expectations of thecontext and situation in which you find yourself. Effectivecommunication means you are able to achievethe most desirable objectives or outcomes in the context.In order to communicate competently, there are threebasic requirements you must meet. First, you must bemotivated to communicate competently. Second, youmust be knowledgeable about the situation in whichyou are communicating and the kind of communicationexpected and needed in that situation. Third, you mustbe skilled at actually sending and receiving messages inthat particular situation. These three requirements or dimensionsof competence – motivation, knowledge, andskills – are the foundation of competent communicationwhether you are in an interpersonal situation, a group,public speaking, or even in a mass communication contextsuch as on television or in a mediated context likeusing e-mail.How can motivation be measured?The motivation requirement/dimension of competentcommunication suggests that you first must wantto communicate. Motivation has both a positive sideand a negative side. Negative motivation is the experienceof anxiety or apprehension about communication,and it discourages you from communicating competently.Positive motivation is based on the perceptionor expectation of some kind of potential reward fromcommunicating and it encourages you to communicatecompetently.According to NCA’s Criteria for Assessment Instruments,the method of assessment should be consistentwith the dimension of oral communication being assessed.Knowledge and attitudes/motivation may be assessedthrough paper and pencil instruments, but speakingand listening skills must be assessed through actualperformance in social settings. The two instruments inthis program are paper and pencil assessment instruments,also referred to as self-report tools. The PersonalReport of Communication Apprehension focuses on assessingthe negative side of motivation and the Willingnessto Communicate focuses on assessing the positiveside of motivation.What is “communication apprehension?”The most common type of negative motivation iscalled communication apprehension – the fear or anxietyan individual experiences as a result of either realor anticipated communication with another person orpersons (Beatty, McCroskey, & Keisel, 1998). Indicatorsof this apprehension may be a nervous feeling inyour stomach, shaky hands, talking too fast or not talkingat all.Some people experience communication apprehensionwhenever they communicate. But most peopleonly get nervous about communicating in one or twocontexts but not in others. This context apprehensionabout communicating in a particular situation couldoccur interpersonally, in groups, or when speaking inpublic. One of the most common forms of context apprehensionis public speaking anxiety – a person’s fearor anxiety associated with a real or anticipated publicspeaking event.What is “willingness to communicate?”Positive motivation is often demonstrated by a person’swillingness to communicate – the individual’stendency to initiate communication. Indicators of thiswillingness may be approaching a stranger at a partyand introducing yourself, making the first suggestionin a group meeting, or raising your hand with a questionin a public lecture. Like apprehension, some peopleare willing to communicate in all contexts, while otherpeople are only willing to communicate in certain situationsor contexts and not others. For example, you maybe willing to communicate interpersonally or in smallgroups but not willing to initiate communicate aboutgiving a speech.Assessing Motivation to Communicate 7
Sources:Beatty, M.J., McCroskey, J.C., & Heisel, A.D. (1998) Communicationapprehension as temperamental expression:A communibiological paradigm. Communication Monographs,65, 197-219.Morreale, S., Spitzberg, B., & Barge, K. (2006). Human communication:Motivation, knowledge, and skills. Belmont,CA: Thomson Wadsworth.II. FACT SHEET ABOUT THIS PROGRAMContents of the program and twoinstrumentsThis program contains two assessment instruments,the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension(PRCA) and the Willingness to Communicate (WTC).The instruments are presented in hard copy in this manualand on a Web site: http://www.uccs.edu/~webdept/excel/comm_prepost/index.php. As the descriptions ofthe two instruments below indicate, both are highly reliableand valid for measuring two dimensions of themotivational domain of communication competence.Personal Report of CommunicationApprehension (PRCA-24)The PRCA-24 is the instrument that is most widelyused to measure communication apprehension. It ispreferable above all earlier versions of the instrument(PRCA, PRCA10, PRCA-24B, etc.). It is highly reliable(alpha regularly >.90) and has very high predictivevalidity. It permits one to obtain sub-scores onthe contexts of public speaking, dyadic interaction,small groups, and large groups. However, these scoresare substantially less reliable than the total PRCA-24scores because of the reduced number of items. Peopleinterested only in public speaking anxiety should considerusing the PRPSA rather than the public speakingsub-score drawn from the PRCA-24. It is much morereliable for this purpose.Willingness to Communicate (WTC)Willingness to communicate is the most basic orientationtoward communication. Almost anyone is likelyto respond to a direct question, but many will not continuethe conversation or actually initiate an interaction.This instrument measures a person’s willingness to initiatecommunication. The face validity of the instrumentis strong, and results of extensive research indicate thepredictive validity of the instrument. Alpha reliabilityestimates for this instrument have ranged from .85 towell above .90. Of the 20 items on the instrument, 8 areused to distract attention from the scored items. The 12remaining items generate a total score, four context-typescores, and three receiver-type scores. The sub-scoresgenerate lower reliability estimates, but generally highenough to be used in research studies.History and description of this programThis program, Assessing Motivation to Communicate,has been available through the National CommunicationAssociation for over 15 years. In its original form,the purchaser received hard copies of the instrumentsand a packet of articles describing the two instrumentsand their use in research and pedagogy. In this secondedition, the instruments are provided on a Web site tofacilitate ease of administration; and, relevant researcharticles are provided in annotated form so the administratorhas easy access to any needed background informationabout the instruments. While these instrumentsare available in the public domain, the second editionof this program is intended to provide everything, all inone place, that any administrator or instructor needs touse these tools effortlessly.Recommendations for using the programThis program and the instruments it contains may beused for several purposes.(a) Given the importance of motivation as a partof communication competence, these instrumentsmay be used to assess two dimensions ofthe motivational domain of students – negative(PRCA) and positive motivation (WTC). Eitheror both instruments could be administered at thebeginning of a course to ascertain students’ levelof motivation; or, at the beginning and end of acourse as a pre-post test comparison.(b) Either or both instruments may be used for testing-inor testing-out (placement) purposes. For example,students with high levels of apprehension or8 Assessing Motivation to Communicate
Page 1 and 2: Assessing Motivation toCommunicate
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Page 6: Table of ContentsI. BACKGROUND . .
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Page 17 and 18: large-lecture/break-out sections) v
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Page 25 and 26: THE NATIONAL COMMUNICATION ASSOCIAT
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Page 29 and 30: About the Author of the Instruments

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