British Journal of Psychology (1987), 78, 241-249 Printed in Great Britain 24 1

@ 1987 The British Psychological Society

Stage fright in orchestral musicians: A study of cognitive and behavioural

strategies in performance anxiety
Andrew Steptoe and Helen Fidler

A questionnaire study was carried out with three groups of musicians : experienced professional
orchestral players (n = 65), music students (n = 41), and members of an amateur orchestra (n = 40).
Musical performance anxiety was assessed together with neuroticism, everyday fears, self-statements
and behavioural coping strategies. Performance anxiety was lowest in the professional group and
highest among students. In all three groups, performance anxiety was related to neuroticism and
everyday fears, notably fear of crowds and social situations. A negative association between age,
performing experience and stage fright was observed in professional musicians but not other groups.
Six clusters of self-statements were identified. Catastrophizing was positively linked with performance
anxiety in all groups, while realistic appraisal of the performance situation was used most commonly
by those with moderate levels of stage fright. Implications for the conceptualization and management
of stage fright are discussed.

Stage fright is a serious problem for many professional and amateur musicians. Trembling,
hyperventilation and nausea are common even in mild cases, while severe difficulties may
lead to premature termination of promising careers. Musical performance anxiety is also a
useful model for the study of specific fear, since the problem and eliciting circumstances
tend to be relatively circumscribed. It is also possible to measure behavioural outcome
objectively in terms of performance quality. A number of interventions have been
developed over recent years on the principle that stage fright stems from heightened
arousal combined with cognitive deficits such as excessive task-irrelevant ideation.
Pharmacological treatments based on the blockade of sympathetic nervous system
activation have achieved some success (James et al., 1977; Neftel et al., 1982), as have
psychological treatments such as cognitive behaviour modification and systematic
desensitization (Appel, 1976; Kendrick et al., 1982). In contrast, the cognitive processes and
other factors associated with performance anxiety have received less attention. The study
described here was therefore designed to assess these patterns among orchestral musicians.
Two main issues were addressed. The first was the relationship of stage fright with public
performing experience. It might be expected that stage fright would decline with increasing
exposure to the public arena, and a negative association of this type was reported by
Lehrer (1981) in music students. However, Hamann (1982) found no relationship between
years of study and level of performance anxiety among instrumental and vocal music
students. Nor was any difference observed between young professional opera singers and
students by Steptoe (1983), although the situational factors related to anxiety did vary with
experience. The restricted range of age and experience in these studies may have led to the
inconsistent pattern of results. The present investigation therefore compared members of
two renowned professional orchestras with students, so as to examine the role of
experience more thoroughly. In order to control for the effects of age which are
confounded with experience, a third group of adult amateur musicians was studied as well.
These individuals approached the professional musicians in age, but their public
performing experience was limited.
Other factors that might relate to performance anxiety were also measured. Although
musicians generally consider stage fright to be a specific problem unrelated to other
psychological difficulties, analogies with phobias and test anxiety suggest that performance
9-2
242 Andrew Steptoe and Helen Fidler
anxiety might be more common in those with a neurotic disposition. Craske & Craig
(1984) showed that student pianists with higher performance anxiety scores also had high
trait anxiety, but the relationship has not been assessed in professional and amateur
musicians before. The relationship of performance anxiety with neuroticism was therefore
investigated in the present study, together with the experience of everyday fears that might
be relevant to public performance. It was predicted that performance anxiety would be
associated with fear of crowds and social situations, but not with non-social fears of
animals or heights and water.
The second major point considered in this study concerned cognitive processes in
performance anxiety. In the related field of test anxiety, anxious people report high levels
of task-irrelevant thoughts, including worry about performance, preoccupation with
feelings of inadequacy and anticipation of loss of status, together with distraction by
perceived somatic arousal (Wine, 1971). Deffenbacher & Hazaleus (1985) have argued that,
in addition to these factors, ' task-generated interference' and distraction by competing
responses concerning irrelevant task parameters, such as time and the presence of an
audience, may also be significant. A number of cognitive therapies emphasize the influence
of covert self-statements (self-talk) on performance in a variety of situations (Mahoney &
Arnkoff, 1978), and test and speech anxiety respond positively to interventions based on
self-statement modification (Dush et al., 1983).
Little systematic information is available concerning the self-statements and cognitive
coping strategies associated with stage performance. In a small study of music students,
Lehrer (1981) identified five clusters of self-statement- problems with memory or
distraction, lack of confidence and worry about tension, fear of social disapproval and
being self-critical about performance problems, concern about performing abilities and
engaging in performance-orientated coping thoughts. However, only lack of confidence and
worry about tension were associated with performance anxiety. An attempt was made to
identify the patterns of thoughts about performance by assessing self-statements in the
present study. The relationship between self-statements and performance anxiety was
assessed in order to characterize the cognitive strategies of people with and without
problems of stage fright. The existing evidence suggests that stage performance complies
with the Yerkes-Dodson Law, and that quality of performance is superior at moderate
levels of anxiety (Leglar, 1979; Steptoe, 1983). Particular attention was therefore paid to
the cognitive coping strategies employed by musicians with intermediate levels of
performance anxiety, since they might be the most effective performers.
Finally, the behavioural coping strategies used by orchestral musicians were investigated.
Although some musicians seek psychological advice, others cope with performance anxiety
with sedatives, alcohol and other behavioural strategies. This relationship was examined in
most detail in the group of professional musicians, where such methods may be employed
extensively, sometimes to the detriment of the individual involved.

Method
Subjects
Three groups of subjects participated in this study. The professional group (professionals) consisted
of members of two leading London-based orchestras- the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the
London Philharmonic Orchestra. Sixty-five of the 75 musicians approached completed the
questionnaires, giving a response rate of 87 per cent. The student group (students) comprised 41
advanced undergraduate music students of orchestral instruments at the Guildhall School of Music
and Drama, London. The completion rate of questionnaires among students was 100 per cent. The
third group (amateurs) were members of a regular amateur orchestra, the Sidcup Symphony
Orchestra. Forty of the 55 amateurs approached completed the questionnaires (73 per cent response
 Stage fright in orchestral musicians 243

rate). The proportions of men and women in the three samples was similar, varying from 40 to 50 per
cent women. It was not possible to identify the sex of respondents, since giving information
concerning both sex and instrument played would have destroyed any possibility of anonymity.

Procedure and measures

The sets of questionnaires were distributed to musicians during rehearsal breaks. The study was
briefly described to each entire orchestra as a survey of performance anxiety and the ways in which
musicians cope with it. Confidentiality and anonymity were assured. The questionnaires were
distributed to each musician participating in the rehearsal, and most were completed and returned by
the end of the rehearsal, the remainder being sent later by post.
Performance anxiety was assessed using the State scale from the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory
(STAI: Spielberger et al., 1970). The instructions for completing the inventory were modified so that
subjects were asked to indicate how they felt just before and during performances in public. Everyday
fears were measured with a 16-item Fear Survey, adapted from the fear questionnaire described by
Hallam & Hafner (1978). Items were selected to represent the various categories of fear identified
through factor analysis of the responses of phobic patients. Six categories were assessed: fear of
crowds or confined spaces (three items), illness and injury (four items), animals (two items), travel
(two items), heights and water (two items), and social situations (four items). Participants were asked
to rate each item on a four-point scale, ranging from 0 = ‘none, or almost no fear at all’ to
3 = ‘strong fear’. Subjects also completed the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI: Eysenck &
Eysenck, 1964), so as to assess the relationship between performance anxiety and neuroticism.
The use of cognitive strategies and self-statements was assessed by presenting subjects with a list of
20 items with the following instructions: ‘Here is a list of things that musicians tell us they sometimes
say to themselves just before a performance. Please read each one carefully and decide whether you
say similar things to yourself’. Each item was rated on a three-point scale from 1 = ‘no, I never say
such things to myself’ to 3 = ‘yes, I almost always say this to myself’. The items were selected from
statements identified through interviews and in the previous study by Steptoe (1983) as being
typically endorsed by professional musicians.
The professional group were also questioned about aspects of a musician’s career that might be
considered stressful or rewarding. Their use of behavioural coping devices such as taking sedatives,
meditating or drinking alcohol before a performance were also assessed. In the student group, these
items were reworded to refer to future careers.

Results
Group characteristics
The characteristics of the three groups are summarized in Table 1. The professionals were
the oldest group o n average, while the students represented a younger, homogeneous
population. The mean age of the amateurs was intermediate, but with a wide range.
Despite their youth, the students had been playing in public for almost as many years as
the amateurs. There were no significant differences between the groups in neuroticism,
extraversion, lie scale o r total ratings from the Fear Survey. The mean rating on the Lie
scale of the EPI lay within one standard deviation of the published norms, suggesting that
responses were not unduly influenced by social desirability biases. However, the groups
differed significantly in performance anxiety (F = 6.85, d.f. = 2,143, P < 0.005), with the
highest rating in the students and the lowest in the professionals.

Correlates of performance anxiety

Product moment correlations between performance anxiety and other factors were
calculated for each group separately, and the results are summarized in Table 2.
Performance anxiety was positively correlated with neuroticism in all three groups, most
strikingly among professionals ( r = 0.702, P <0.001). The total score on the Fear Survey
was positively correlated with performance anxiety in all groups, but was significant only in
the professionals and students. There were n o significant associations between performance
244 Andrew Steptoe and Helen Fidler

Table 1. Group characteristics (mean with standard deviation in parentheses)

Professionals Amateurs Students

(n = 65) (n = 40) (n= 41)

Age 372) (10.5) 28.9 (14.9) 20.8 (2.2)

Years playing in 21.6 (9.8) 11.6 (9.1) 8.2 (2.2)
public
Proportion of 72.3 575 58.6
string players (7:)
Neuroticism 12.1 (5.1) 12.3 (4.5) 14.1 (4.6)
Extraversion 11.2 (3.6) 12.1 (4.5) 12.7 (3.5)
Fear Survey (total) 9.0 (5.1) 10.3 (4.9) 10.5 (5.4)
Performance anxiety 42.4 (10.8) 46.4 (10.3) 50.3 (11.6)

Table 2. Correlates of performance anxiety

Professionals Amateurs Students

Neuroticism 0.702** 0.393* 0.313*
Extraversion -0.280* - 0.078 -0.138
Fear Survey (total) 0.274* 0.176 0.478**
Specific fears
Crowds 0.287* -0.146 0.009
Social situations 0.142 0.208 0.512**
Age -0’347** -0.165 0.052
Years playing in public -0.375** -0.082 0.03 1
* P < 0.05; ** P < 0.01.
anxiety and specific fears of travel, heights and water, or animals, although mean ratings
on these items were low. However, a positive correlation with fear of crowds was identified
among professionals, while the performance anxiety of students was positively correlated
-=
with fear of social situations (r = 0.512, P 0.01).
Significant negative correlations were observed among professionals between
performance anxiety and extraversion, age and years of playing in public (the latter two
being themselves closely related). These patterns were not apparent in the amateur or
student samples, suggesting a specific change with age in full-time professional musicians of
several years’ standing.

Self-statements and performance anxiety

A factor analysis utilizing data from all 146 subjects was conducted on the 20 items of the
self-statement questionnaire using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (Nie et al.,
1975). Six factors emerged with eigenvalues above one, together accounting for 57.7 per
cent of the variance. Varimax rotation was carried out, and items were assigned to factors
using the conventional factor loading of > 0-3 (Child, 1970). The six factors are detailed in
Table 3 and have been tentatively named catastrophizing, positive thinking, mixed strategy,
blast attitude, realistic appraisal and audience sensitivity.
Scores for each factor were derived by summing the score given for each item
(three-point scale), so the total scores varied from 18 (factor 1, six items) to six (factor 4,
two items). The product moment correlations between performance anxiety and
self-statement factors for each group are summarized in Table 4. Significant positive
 Stage fright in orchestral musicians 245

Table 3. Self-statement factors

Factor/self-statements (with item number) Loading

1. Catastrophizing
(3) I think I’m going to faint 0.599
(5) I don’t think I will be able to get through to the end without cracking up 0.583
(12) I’m almost sure to make a dreadful mistake, and that will ruin everything 0.731
(14) I mustn’t think about the possibility of making a mistake, or else I’ll 0.33 1
get into a state
(16) I don’t feel in control of this situation; anything might happen 0.606
(17) I think I’m going to be sick 0.570
2. Positive thinking
(10) I know I’m good and have prepared well for this; I’ll go on and make
them sit up and notice me 0.600
(1 5) This concert is really going to be exciting 0.472
(19) I’ve prepared properly, so even if I d o lose concentration for a bit my
fingers can play the notes automatically 0.520
3. Mixed strategy
(2) I’ll just concentrate on the music and ignore everything else 0.725
(7) I’ll just concentrate on staying relaxed 0.490
(18) It’s not the audience I worry about, it’s my colleagues - if I mess it up
they’re sure to notice 0.341

4. Blask attitude
(1) It’s just another concert; in a year from now, no one will remember whether I
played well or not 0.582
(8) The audience won’t notice the difference, however well I perform 0.545
5. Realistic appraisal
(4) I’m bound to make a few mistakes, but so does everyone 0.451
(6) The audience wants me to play well and will make allowances for any slips 0.603
(20) I’ll concentrate on technical aspects of the music and the interpretation I’ve
prepared 0.392
6. Audience sensitivity
(9) I’ll pretend the audience isn’t there and that it’s a rehearsal 0.344
(11) The audience have paid their money, and if I mess it up I will be 0.592
letting them down
(1 3) I’m in control; this tenseness I feel is an ally 0.314

Table 4. Correlations between performance anxiety and self-statement factors

~~ ~~

Professionals Amateurs Students

-
1. Catastrophizing 0.624** 0.583** 0.636**
2. Positive thinking 0.007 0.082 - 0.420**
3. Mixed strategy 0.256* -0.105 0.228
4. Blase attitude 0.300* 0.0 16 0.101
5. Realistic appraisal 0.208 0.045 0.264
6. Audience sensitivity -0.089 0.267 0.225
246 Andrew Steptoe and Helen Fidler
Professionals Amateurs Students
l2 1
10

8
6
4

2
0
Factor 1 : Catastrophizing

Factor 5: Realistic appraisal

.,
Figure 1. Mean ratings on the catastrophizing factor (upper panel) and realistic appraisal factor
(lower panel) of the self-statementslist in professional, amateur and student musicians. Each group is
divided into performance anxiety subgroups: high; m; medium; 0 ,low.

correlations were identified among professionals between performance anxiety and

catastrophizing, mixed strategy and blase attitude. These three factors were also correlated
with neuroticism. When the effects of neuroticism were controlled using partial
correlations, the associations between performance anxiety and mixed strategy and blask
attitude were no longer reliable. However, the partial correlation with catastrophizing
remained significant (r = 0.292, P c 0.05). In the amateur and student samples,
performance anxiety was again correlated positively with catastrophizing, while the
associations of catastrophizing with neuroticism were not significant. Among students, a
negative correlation between positive thinking and performance anxiety was observed.
Performance quality may be related to performance anxiety in a curvilinear fashion, with
optimal quality at intermediate anxiety levels. The self-statements used by musicians with
an intermediate level of performance anxiety are thus of great interest. This pattern was
assessed by dividing each group into tertiles on the performance anxiety measure. Allowing
for tied scores, this resulted in 21 high, 23 medium and 21 low anxiety professionals,
12 high, 14 medium and 12 low anxiety amateurs, and 14 high, 13 medium and 14 low
anxiety students. The utilization of each self-statement factor was then assessed by analysis
of variance in each group, with anxiety level subgroup as a between-subjects factor. In all
groups, the main effect for anxiety level was significant in the analysis of the
catastrophizing factor (F = 18.59, d.f. = 2,62, P < 0.001; F = 3.88, d.f. = 2,37, P = 0.029;
and F = 8.44, d.f. = 2,38, P c 0.001; for professionals, amateurs and students
respectively). These data are illustrated in Fig. 1, and confirm the correlational analyses in
showing that catastrophizing self-statements were used more frequently by subjects with
high performance anxiety. A similar relationship was identified for blasC attitude among
professionals (F = 3.98, d.f. = 2,62, P = 0-024). More interestingly, a curvilinear
relationship emerged in all three groups between performance anxiety and use of realistic
appraisal self-statements (factor 5 : F = 3.19, d.f. = 2,62, P = 0.048; F = 3.63, d.f. = 2,37,
P = 0.036; and F = 4.41, d.f. = 2,38, P = 0.019; for professionals, amateurs and students).
 Stage fright in orchestral musicians 247

Table 5. Career stress and career interests

Performance anxiety
subgroups
(percentage endorsement)
High Medium Low
Career stress items (n = 21) (n = 23) (n = 21) xz
Uncertainty about regular employment 33 26 14 7.59
Professional competition with colleagues 35 26 14 7.59
The attitude of other people towards your career 24 9 10 9.81
Poor financial rewards 33 17 14 9.78
Back stabbing among colleagues 33 22 0 30.80
Social pressures to be sociable and vivacious 24 26 5 14.65

As can be seen in Fig. 1, subjects reporting medium levels of performance anxiety endorsed
these statements more frequently than those with either high or low performance anxiety.

Career stress and behavioural coping

The subdivision of the professional group into high, medium and low performance anxiety
was used in the analysis of career stress and rewards. The number of people in each
category who might have been expected to endorse each item was calculated from the
overall frequencies, and the observed values compared with these estimates using x2.
Significant differences were recorded in six of the 11 career stress items, and these are
detailed in Table 5. In each case, subjects with high performance anxiety were more likely
to endorse the item. Similar patterns were observed among students, with significant
differences between performance anxiety subgroups on all the items noted in Table 4
k2= 7.28-38.17). In addition, students with high performance anxiety were more likely to
report that irregular working hours and the lack of understanding within the general
population of the difficulties faced by musicians would be stressful k2= 23-21, P < 0.001;
and 7.28, P = 0.052; respectively).
Behavioural coping strategies
Seventeen per cent of professional musicians with high performance anxiety reported
taking sedatives as a method of coping, compared with 4 per cent of medium and none of
-=
the respondents with low performance anxiety (x2 = 26.17, P 0.001). No other
differences in behavioural strategy were significant, although there was a tendency for
medium anxious people to report meditating more commonly (17 per cent) than low (10
per cent) or high (5 per cent) anxious musicians k2= 6-81, P = 0-066). In the student
sample, medium anxious people were more likely to use reading and meditation as methods
of coping than the high or low anxious (x2= 46-80 and 8.77, respectively, P < 0.025).
Twenty-nine per cent of the low anxious group reported having a stiff drink before
performance, compared with 8 per cent of the medium and 14 per cent of the high anxious
groups (xz= 13.76, P < 0.002).
Discussion
The limitations of this study must be borne in mind. Data were collected entirely by
questionnaire, and it is possible that such reports do not accurately reflect people’s
behaviour during performance. Secondly, not all the musicians approached actually
248 Andrew Steptoe and Helen Fidler
completed the study, although the response rate among professionals and students was
high. It is not known whether those individuals who failed to return the questionnaire fell
into any particular category of performance anxiety intensity.
The comparison of performance anxiety in the three groups indicates higher levels of
stage fright among students compared with professional musicians. This difference could be
ascribed either to age or to performance experience. However, the amateur group had
similar levels of public performance experience as the students yet their anxiety levels were
lower, suggesting that age may be the more important factor. On the other hand, it is
possible that amateur musicians are not an appropriate comparison group, since stage
fright for them does not have the evaluative and professional connotations of those who
select music as a career. Within the professional group itself, performance anxiety was also
negatively correlated with age and level of public performing experience. Again, however,
this cannot be interpreted unequivocally as implying that exposure to public appearance
leads to a reduction in stage fright. Two other explanations are possible: highly
performance-anxious musicians may give up the competitive occupation of working in a
top level orchestra at an early age, leaving a preponderance of low-anxious older
musicians. Alternatively, older, more performance-anxious professional musicians may not
have completed the questionnaires. These explanations are, however, rendered less likely by
the absence of significant correlations between neuroticism and age or years of playing in
public in the professional group.
The association between performance anxiety and total scores on the Fear Survey may
reflect the underlying influence of neurotic disposition on these phenomena. A closer
relationship between stage fright and fears related to appearing in public (crowds and
social situations) was expected. But, as can be seen in Table 2, only two of the six relevant
correlations were significant. However, the overall levels of fear in the specific categories of
the Fear Survey were low, so a floor effect may have prevented more consistent patterns
from emerging.
Analysis of the 20-item self-statement questionnaire revealed that thoughts about
performance could be grouped into ordered patterns (Table 3). Self-statements clustered
around a number of themes, only some of which were related to stage fright. Of these, the
most important is catastrophizing. In all three groups studied, individuals with stage fright
were more likely to exaggerate in imagination the consequences of minor mishap, and to
fear loss of control. Catastrophizing has been identified by Ellis (1977) as a major element
in the pattern of maladaptive, irrational beliefs associated with anxiety. Furthermore, the
association between catastrophizing and performance anxiety was maintained even after
the effects of neuroticism had been taken into account statistically. The more frequent
concerns about career stresses in the highly anxious subgroup (detailed in Table 5) may
cause further interference with appropriate task-orientated cognitions, leading to
deterioration in performance.
The curvilinear association between self-statement factor 5 (realistic appraisal) and
performance anxiety is of great interest (Fig. 1). A consistent pattern emerged across all
three groups, with higher levels of realistic appraisal being endorsed by subjects at medium
levels of performance anxiety. If performance anxiety has an inverted U-shape relationship
with performance quality, this suggests that the items contained in factor 5 may be among
the most adaptive cognitive strategies to adopt during public performance. It should be
noted that factor 5 includes a realistic perception of performance quality (with the
likelihood of some mistakes being made), together with a positive attitude to the audience.
Further research of this type may help to identify the cognitive orientations that may be
targeted most appropriately in the management of serious problems of stage fright.
 Stage fright in orchestral musicians 249

Acknowledgements
This research was supported by the Medical Research Council UK. The authors are grateful to the
management and members of the Royal Philharmonic and London Philharmonic Orchestras, the
staff and students of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and members of the Sidcup
Symphony Orchestra, for their cooperation.

References
Appel, S. S. (1976). Modifying solo performance anxiety in adult pianists. Journal of Music Therapy, 30, 2-16.
Child D. (1970). The Essentials of Factor Analysis. London: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Craske, M. G. & Craig, K. D. (1984). Musical performance anxiety: The three-systems model and self-efficacy
theory. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 22, 267-280.
Deffenbacher, J. L. & Hazaleus, S. L. (1985). Cognitive, emotional and physiological components of test anxiety.
Cognitive Therapy and Research, 9, 169-1 80.
Dush, D. M., Hirt, M. L. & Schroeder, H. (1983). Self-statement modification with adults: A meta-analysis.
Psychological Bulletin, 94, 408-422.
Ellis, A. (1977). Rationakmotive therapy: Research data that supports the clinical and personality hypotheses of
RET and other modes of cognitive-behavior therapy. The Counselling Psychologist, 7, 2-42.
Eysenck, H. J. & Eysenck, S. B. G. (1964). Manual of the Eysenck Personality Inventory. London: University of
London Press.
Hallam, R. S. & Hafner, R. J. (1978). Fears of phobic patients: Factor analyses of self-report data. Behaviour
Research and Therapy, 16, 1-6.
Hamann, D. L. (1982). An assessment of anxiety in instrumental and vocal performances. Journal of Research in
Musical Education, 30, 77-90.
James, I. M., Pearson, R. M., Griffith, A. N. W. & Newburg, P. (1977). The effect of oxprenolol on stage-fright in
musicians. Lancet, ii, 952-954.
Kendrick, M. J., Craig, K. D., Lawson, D. W. & Davidson, P. 0. (1982). Cognitive and behavioral therapy for
musical-performance anxiety. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 50, 353-362.
Leglar, M. (1979). Measurement indicators of anxiety levels under various conditions of musical performance.
Dissertation Abstracts International, 34, 5201 A.
Lehrer, P. M. (1981). What is performance anxiety? A psychological study of the responses of musicians to a
questionnaire about performance anxiety. Proceedings of the International Conference on Tension in
Performance, Kingston Polytechnic, UK.
Mahoney, M. J. & Amkoff, D. B. (1978). Cognitive and self-control therapies. In S. L. Garfield & A. E. Bergin
(eds), Handbook of Psychotherapy and Behavior Change. New York: Wiley.
Neftel, K. A., Adler, R. H., Kappell, L., Rossi, M., Dolder, M., Kaser, H. E., Bruggesser, H. H. & Vorkauf, H.
(1982). Stage-fright in musicians: A model illustrating the effect of beta blockers. Psychosomatic Medicine, 44,
46 1-469.
Nie, M. H., Hull, C. H., Jenkins, J. G., Steinbrenner, K. & Bent, D. H. (1975). Statistical Package for the Social
Sciences. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Spielberger, C. D., Gorsuch, R. L. & Lushene, R. E. (1970). Manual for the State-Trait Inventory. Palo Alto, CA:
Consulting Psychologists’ Press.
Steptoe, A. (1983). The relationship between tension and the quality of musical performance. Journal of the
International Society for the Study of Tension in Performance, 1, 12-22.
Wine, J. D. (1971). Test anxiety and direction of attention. Psychological Bulletin, 76, 92-104.

Received 26 June 1986; revised version received 21 October 1986

Requests for reprints should be addressed to Dr Andrew Steptoe, Department of Psychology, St George’s
Hospital Medical School, University of London, Cranmer Terrace, Tooting, London SW17 ORE, UK.
Helen Fidler is at the United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy’s and St Thomas’s Hospitals, London.