Development of a Short State Interview Anxiety Scale

ABSTRACT Interview anxiety is a common experience. It can negatively impact interview performance and reduce the predictive validity of the interview. This article describes the development of a short measure of state interview anxiety, the SIA‐6. Across two studies ( N = 450 and N = 235) we describe the process of generating and selecting items and provide evidence of reliability and construct validity. The new measure correlates r = 0.66 with an established multi‐dimensional measure of trait interview anxiety, suggesting it is related, but not redundant with the existing measure. The SIA‐6 fits the nomological network of interview anxiety expected based on past research and will be a useful tool for future research on state interview anxiety.