Correlates of quietness: Swedish and American perspectives

This study examined the means of and correlations between perceptions of willingness to communicate, communication apprehension, communication competence, and introversion of college students in the United States and Sweden. Comparisons indicated differences in the perceptions reported by students from the two cultures. Swedish students report themselves to be more competent and introverted but less willing to communicate than American students. Reports of communication apprehension were not significantly different. The results are interpreted as limiting generalizability of the monocultural research conducted in this area in the U.S. Key concepts: Intercultural communicationcommunication apprehensionwillingness to communicatecommunication competenceintroversionPRCA