Behavioral assessment of public-speaking anxiety using a modified version of the Social Performance Rating Scale.

The current study aimed to extend the evaluation of the utility of the Social Performance Rating Scale (SPRS) [Behav. Res. Ther. 36 (1998) 995]. We examined the utility of a modified SPRS for the behavioral assessment of public-speaking anxiety among patients with social phobia (n = 49). The videotaped performance of public-speaking fearful patients in a public-speaking task was rated using four of the five SPRS ratings and was compared to global ratings by patients and observers, as well as to self-report and clinician-administered measures of social anxiety. The pattern of correlations with criterion measures of social anxiety provided evidence for the convergent and divergent validity of this modified SPRS for the behavioral assessment of public-speaking anxiety.