Abstract
Fear of public speaking is associated with the personality variable of trait anxiety. Trait anxiety is also associated with irrational beliefs. Therapies designed to modify irrational beliefs have been successful in reducing fear about speaking and support the hypothesis that fear about speech is mediated by irrational beliefs. However, the present study showed that only one of 10 irrational beliefs, Demand for Approval, is positively correlated with fear about speaking. Demand for Approval scores were not statistically different for groups reporting high and low fear. The implications of the negative findings are discussed regarding cognitive processes and cognitive modification of fear about public speaking.
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