This case study examined dynamic interactions of two small teams of English as Second Language students when they performed two collaborative argument writing tasks in asynchronous and synchronous web-based contexts. The two teams exhibited different interaction patterns when switching between contexts. These patterns were identified in terms of…

The present study investigated the guidance provided by science teachers to resolve conflicts during socioscientific issue-based argumentation activities. A graphical representation (GR) was developed as a tool to code and analyze the dialogue interaction process. Through the GR and qualitative analysis, we identified three types of dialogue…

This study investigates cultural and communication medium effects on conversational argumentation in a decision-making context. Chinese and U.S. participants worked in pairs on two decision-making tasks via face-to-face (FtF) and instant messaging (IM). The analyses showed that Chinese participants tended to engage in potentially more complex…

Investigated how majority and minority arguments are positively or negatively responded to by group members and the effects of such responses on the polarization process. Demonstrated that reactions to minority arguments, not the forwarding of minority arguments per se, were significantly correlated with the degree of group polarization. (PD)

Develops a model of negotiation rule use that incorporates both content and relational dimensions and focuses upon interaction as the dependent variable. Assesses how winners and losers in mock negotiations differ in their use of communication rules. (PD)

A study was conducted to examine the presence and composition of nonverbal cues exhibited in a spontaneous dyadic interaction and to investigate the assumption that cue variation is inconsequential to the effect of nonverbal behavior implicit in methods that aggregate cue incidence across interactions. Subjects, 110 college undergraduates, worked…

Found that increases in cognitive complexity and construct system abstractness significantly related to the use of (1) a greater number of persuasive strategies; (2) more listener-adaptive persuasive strategies; and (3) formation of more complex and abstract impressions of interaction partners. (PD)

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 22 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: the rhetorical effectiveness of Senator Edmund S. Muskie's 1972 Presidential primary election campaign; persuasive speaking techniques of black college and…