Sources of Differences in Communication Apprehension between Chinese in Taiwan and Americans.

This study investigated whether cross-cultural differences in communication apprehension (CA) can be explained with regard to cultural orientations, personality traits and component theory. To this end, a total of 618 undergraduates, studying in Taiwan (n = 298) and the United States (n = 320), participated in this study. Participants filled out the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension along with Self-Construal Scale, the Revised NEO Personality Inventory, Fear of Negative Evaluation, and Self-Perceived Communication Competence scale. The results indicated that Chinese in Taiwan scored significantly higher in communication apprehension than Americans. The influence of culture on CA was mediated by independence self-construal, neuroticism, extroversion,fear of negative evaluation, and communication competence. The strongest mediating effect was found for self-perception of communication competence. The implications of these findings were further discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]