The Effects of Communication Apprehension on the Perception of Peers

SOlVIE of the more important outcomes of human communication are the perceptions of each other that are stimulated in the participants as a result of their interaction. A person's communication behavior has a major impact on the way that person is perceived by the other communicators involved.1 The amount of participation in which a person engages, a very basic element of communication behavior, has been found to have a major impact on perceived credibility, homophily, and attractiveness,:! as well as perceived status3 and leadership.4 The research concerning reticence:; and communication apprehension6 indicates that persons who suffer from abnormal levels of apprehension about communication characteristically attempt to withdraw from communicative encounters, either by avoiding the encounter completely or by reducing participation if the encounter cannot be avoided. The present research was designed to investigate the effect of communication apprehension on interpersonal perceptions of communicators. On the basis of the previous research