Precompetitive appraisal, performance anxiety and confidence in conservatorium musicians: A case for coping.

Abstract

The way musicians appraise their abilities to succeed in a forthcoming evaluative performance impacts on the range of emotions they will experience. According to Lazarus' cognitive-motivational-relational theory, emotions may wield powerful consequences depending on whether the performance is interpreted as a threat (high importance/primary appraisal; low coping prospects/secondary appraisal), or challenge (high importance; high coping prospects). Thirty-six Bachelor of Music students at a large University music school completed an adaptation of the Precompetitive Appraisal Measure (PAM) and Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2R-D twice in relation to their end-of-semester recital: at the s..