Summary
The Speaking in Groups Questionnaire (VSG) was developed to study fear of speaking in groups and to examine the effects of a training program. The VSG was administred to a reference and a training group: 105 first year students and 109 students who applied for a training program 'Speaking in Groups'. On basis of factor analysis four scales were constructed: anxiety of speaking in groups, pleasure in speaking in groups, eagerness in speaking in groups and self-confidence in speaking in groups. The reliability of the scales is satisfactory. The scales differentiate between the two groups and reflect therapeutic improvement.
In contrast with a widely used one-dimensional concept of fear of speaking in groups (McCroskey, 1970) our results indicate a multi-dimensional concept. The results of this study are consistent with measurement of attitudes to working with computers (Loyd & Gressard, 1984), studies of the differentiation of positive and negative affect (Mook, Kleijn & Van der Ploeg, 1991) and research on the balance of positive and negative thoughts (Schwartz, 1986).
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