Fear of Negative Evaluation, Email Style, and Communication Competence: Explaining the Frequency of Email Use in a Difficult Personal Situation

• In Event: Top Four Papers: Communication Apprehension and Competence Division

Abstract

Undergraduate participants (N = 287) responded to a fear of negative evaluation scale (Leary, 1983), rate their use of twenty-seven email behaviors, and report their competence and likelihood of using email and face-to-face communication when confronted with a difficult personal situation. A structural equation model (SEM) explained the frequency of email use in a difficult personal situation, which consisted of fear of negative evaluation, two dimensions of email style, and self-perceived communication competence.

Authors

• Lynne Kelly, University of Hartford

• James Keaten, University of Northern Colorado

• Yen-I Lee, NULL

• David Palmer, University of Northern Colorado