Stage Fright and Performance
Byron D. Myers II
Missouri Western State College
December 5, 1995
Abstract
This study looked at the affects of stage fright on the performance
of singers. The subjects were midwestern members of the Society
for the Encouragement and Preservation of Quartet Singing in
America (S.P.E.B.S.Q.S.A.). All of the subjects were competitors
at a contest held in Ceder Rapids, IA. Approximately one month
after the contest, the subjects were interviewed by phone. A series
of questions were asked which included a self rating of stage
fright. This information was compared to the outcome of the group
in which the singer participated. After all of the information was
gathered; a regression of the means was done and we found that
there was no relationship between stage fright and contest ranking.
However, there was a relationship between five other variables
included in the survey (Multiple R .85198). They were as follows:
Amount of Coaching, Group Goal, Preparation Length, Self Rating of
Performance, and Singing Position. These five factors gave a F
(5,38) = 20.12429 p > .05. This shows that there is a
significant relationship between these variables and the
performance, as ranked by judges.
Stage Fright and Performance
This study is about the affects of stage fright on performance.
Singers who have entered a contest rated themselves on stage fright
and then those ratings were compared with their outcome in the
contest. One would think that those who rated themselves higher in
stage fright would do worse that those who rated themselves as low
stage fright (Fredrikson, 1992). But this is not the only thing
that may affect the stage fright ratings. Ayres (1986) found that
performers who knew that the audience expectation was high had a
greater amount of stage fright than those who had a low audience
expectation. This may show then that the competitors who were
expected to do well by themselves, and the audience, would
experience greater amounts of stage fright than those who were not
under such high expectations. But, Aryes (1988) also found that
stage fright could be partially controlled by preparation. This
would allow for the competitors who were to do well to reduce their
stage fright if they prepare themselves. It may especially help if
the performers prepare themselves with the use of video tape. It
was found in a separate study that the use of video tape in
preparation for public speaking allowed a person to reduce the
anxiety they felt from stage fright and were able to perform better
(Lyons, 1984). This information show us that singers who prepare
themselves better, especially if they use video tape, will reduce
their anxiety. But if the singer was more anxious to begin with,
or if the singer knows that the audience expectations are high,
then they may experience greater amounts of stage fright. It is
because of these opposing forces that we will do this study and see
which win out in the end. Obviously if stage fright is more
controlled by outside forces (ie. audience expectations), then a
performer might be better served by preparing themselves with
relaxation techniques in addition to their performance preparation.
This would allow the musicians to control the stage fright as it
happened ( Stanton 1994). In addition to the above mentioned
factors we also looked at other factors that may have an affect on
stage fright. For example; the singers age can have a reverse
affect on the amount of stage fright that a person experiences
(Steptoe, 1987). If this is so then one might think that the more
experienced and older competitors would do better than the younger
less experienced. Also Rose (1983) found that smoking had an affect
on stage fright. The point is that if the performer hopes to do
well then they must prepare themselves for the anxiety of stage
fright. Because, outside factors may produce stage fright even if
the person would rate themselves as relatively low stage fright to
begin with. And this is a problem because of the physiological
affect that stage fright has on the body. Fredrikson (1992) studied
neuroendocrine and cardiovascular function and found that during
the anxiety of stage fright the subjects were in a "distress mode".
This occurred in both high and low rated stage fright subjects.
This information clearly shows that stage fright does have an
affect on a musicians ability to perform. And the information show
that singers can control stage fright to a certain extent. So one
would expect that the singers that not only prepared themselves
well, but also prepared themselves for the possibility of stage
fright would do better that those who didn't. Also those who didn't
smoke and were older and more experienced should do better. It
also appears that those who are not burdened with high expectations
will do better. Therefor the singers who do best at the contest
should be the most prepared, experienced, non-smoking, older
candidates who aren't labeled with high expectations. The purpose
of this study is to examine this possibility and then to draw
conclusions on how to help competitors in the future.
Methods
Subjects
The subjects in this study are 44 male adults from the midwest.
They all came from the following states: Missouri, Kansas, Iowa,
Nebraska, South Dakota. They have all voluntarily signed up for a
singing contest sponsored by the Society for the Preservation and
Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America. They
range in age from 14 to 70 and also range in backgrounds. The only
common link is that they are all members of the Society and that
they all wish to compete in the contest.
Materials
There are two main components involved with the gathering of
infirmation in this study. One is the survey used to gather stage
fright and demographic information. The other is the official
scoring summary published by S.P.E.B.S.Q.S.A.
Procedure
To do this experiment I first contacted the proper authorities at
S.P.E.B.S.Q.S.A. to get permission to use their contestants as
subjects. Once permission was granted I contacted the contest
chairman to get addresses of all contestants. Each contestant was
interviewed by phone approximately one month after the contest.
Once the information was gathered, we did a Multiple Regression
test to see if stage fright did in fact have an affect on the
outcome of the contest.
Results
Once the information was gathered, a Regression of the Means was
done to check for relationships between stage fright or any other
variable and the outcome in the contest by the performer. No
significant relationship was found regarding stage fright and
performance. The other factors that did not show any relationship
were how long the group had been together, how well the singers
rated their singing ability, how much contest experience the singer
had, whether or not they play a musical instrument, how long they
had been a member of S.P.E.B.S.Q.S.A., the number of songs their
group knew, how often they rehearse, and if they had any formal
musical training. However, a significant relationship did show up
between five other variables (Multiple R .85198). They were as
follows: amount of coaching, what was the singers goal, how long
did they prepare, how they would rate their own performance, and
where they sang in the contest. These items received an F (5,38)
= 20.12429 p > .05. This says that there is a significant
relationship between these five items and the performers outcome in
the contest.
Discussion
The results that were found did not support the original purpose of
stage fright having an affect on performance. In fact there was no
significant relationship found in this contest between stage fright
and outcome. This went against the information found by
Frederikson (1992). However, there was such a strong relationship
between the five variables of coaching, goal, preparation time,
performance rating, and singing position that future research
should pursue this area. It makes common sense that groups that
are helped more would do better and it also makes sense that a
better group would have a higher goal for themselves. But the fact
that quartets that prepared less did better doesn't match previous
research (Lyons, 11984). But it is possible that better quartets
could do well with less preparation time and quartets should do
better if they felt like they did a good job. But the curious
relationship between singing position in the contest and outcome is
disturbing. Because the performer has no control on this. There
must be groups that go first. But is it fair if we know that they
will not be ranked as high as those that perform later in the
contest? I would suggest that this should be a topic of future
study so that suggestions might be made for different contest
formats. Of course this study is not the most scientific study
ever done. It would be better if all participants were interviewed
and it would be better if the study could be done as the
competition is happening. This would allow for answers "on the
spot" so that subjects don't forget or aren't biased by the
outcome. It may be possible that quartets rated their performance
as good simply because they already knew of the outcome and it was
good. It would also be interesting to compare this information
against other contests in the country.
Despite the problems with this study the fact that a significant
relationship was found and the fact that these factors can have an
affect on the outcome of a contest; I feel that it is important to
follow up with additional studies regarding these issues.
References
Aryes, J. (1986). Perceptions of speaking ability: An explanation
of stage fright. Communication-Education, 35, 275-287.
Aryes, J. (1988). The impact of time, complexity, and organization
on self reports of speech anxiety. Communication-Research
reports, 5, 58-63.
Fredrikson, M., Gunnarson, R. (1992). Psychobiology of stage
fright: The effect of public performance on neuroendocrine,
cardiovascular and subjective reactions. Biological Psychology,
33, 51-61.
Lyons, M., Bradley, C., White, J. (1984). Video taping and
abnormal psychology: Dramatized clinical interviews. Teaching
of Psychology, 11, 41-42.
Rose, J.E., Ananda, S., Jarvick, M.E. (1983). Cigarette smoking
during anxiety-provoking and monotonous tasks. Addictive
Behaviors, 8, 353-359.
Stanton, H.E. (1994). Reduction of performance anxiety in music
students. Australian Psychologist, 29, 124-127.
Steptoe, A., Fidler, H. (1987). Stage fright in orchestral
musicians: A study of cognitive and behavioral strategies in
performance anxiety. British Journal of Psychology, 78,
241-249.
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