An instrument to assess self-statements during public speaking: Scale development and preliminary psychometric properties

Public speaking is the most commonly reported fearful social situation. Alt hough a number of contemporary theories emphasize the importance of cogniti ve processes in social anxiety, there is no instrument available to assess fearful thoughts experienced during public speaking. The Self-Statements Du ring Public Speaking (SSPS) scale is a 10-item questionnaire consisting of two 5-item subscales, the Positive Self-Statements (SSPS-P) and the Negativ e Self-Statements subscale (SSPS-N). Four studies report on the development and the preliminary psychometric properties of this instrument.