A study explored the effects of both the sales representative's and the target consumer's biological gender upon the persuasive strategy choice of the salesperson. Data from 204 salespeople responding to a 27-item questionnaire were collected over a 6-week period. The results indicate clear differences between men and women sales representatives…

Some research suggests that improvement in psychotherapy is related to the degree that a patient adopts his therapist's evaluative attitudes. This article was designed to pursue the possibility of predicting the outcomes of group psychotherapy using attitude theory. (Author)

Practical example of need for more in-depth study of debate theory. (CH)

A test of the effects of a variation in the order of presentation of oral statements. (CH)

This paper maintains that persuasive efforts in religious discourse must include a respect for the right of individuals to make free choices. Some of the unethical practices discussed are: deception and flattery, where the persuader, in a spirit of conquest, entices the listener into wrong decision-making; physical or psychological force, where…

A message-centered dramatistic theory of communication was used in conjunction with Q-sort technique and factor analysis to build and test a message-centered foreign-policy inventory that contained three dramatic interpretations of U.S. involvement in foreign affairs: cold war, power politics, and neo-isolationism. Analysis of results from two…

Investigates the effects of consultation among collegiate debate judges prior to balloting. Results suggest that such interaction produces stronger bases for and confidence in final decisions. (MH)

Defines argument as a process whereby people reason their way from one set of problematic ideas to the choice of another and identifies six characteristics of argument based on this concept. (MH)

Noting that confrontation is a fundamental element of debate, a study examined the confrontational nature of a 1980 presidential debate between Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan by analyzing its verbal and visual context as presented through television. By means of videotapes, still photographs, and a typed transcript, each instance of a verbal…

Two experiments were conducted to assess the influences of two individual variables--verbal aptitude and writing apprehension--on the production of persuasive arguments by college students. Subjects were 47 college students who wrote preliminary and final drafts of persuasive letters. Results of both experiments revealed that the students' verbal…

Pointing out that the "tabula rasa" debate perspective is built on the assumption that free and open debate is the fairest and most accurate method of resolving disputes, this paper argues that the "tabula rasa" approach itself has not been subjected to a similar scrutiny. The paper notes that this perspective was derived from…

The studies counterplan, frequently used as a debate strategy by the negative, is unlikely to produce the desired effect in the United States Congress, its frequently mentioned target. First, Congress tends to move slowly, which implies that an optimal solution determined by a studies counterplan may not be adopted soon after the completion of the…

A study of the 1980 debate between Republican presidential candidates Ronald Reagan and George Bush demonstrates what influence, if any, a debate has on the voting public. The unit of analysis used in the study was each single message presented by each candidate without interruption by the other candidate or the moderator. Two investigators made…

Because the affirmative plan in debate cannot be modified once it has been criticized by the second negative, it is important that the affirmative team word the plan carefully in simple and concise language, assuring that it upholds all possible policies and contains only those planks that support the resolution. Other considerations in…

In debate, it has been argued that a judge's decision is between two competing policy systems. This paradigm does not admit of direct refutation by the negative team considering the predicate facts and value assumptions of the affirmative policy. A second position is that straight refutation is an appropriate means of analysis in resolving…