The present study revealed lay theories about 'agari' experiences. 'Agari' is a Japanese noun (the verb form is 'agaru') , referring to broad experiences including 'stage-fright', 'choking under pressure' and 'social anxiety'. Based upon the self-reports of 429 subjects, a 68-item questionnaire on the causes for 'agari' experiences (CAEQ) was constructed. Another 371 subjects completed the CAEQ, and a factor analysis of their responses revealed seven factors: "worry about failure", "pressure", "personality traits and emotional states", "insufficiency", "other awareness", "unfamiliarity", and "sense of inferiority". Next, hierarchical cluster analysis was performed and the results divided twelve 'agari' situations into four clusters of situations: "competition/test", "other sex", "presentation not requiring success", and "public evaluation". The clusters were differentiated by "pressure" and "other awareness" factors. These results were discussed in terms of lay theories' common and different characteristics between 'agari' eliciting situations.
