Explores cognitive and emotional mechanisms underlying success and failure of fear appeals in context of AIDS prevention. Offers general support for Extended Parallel Process Model. Suggests that cognitions lead to fear appeal success (attitude, intention, or behavior changes) via danger control processes, whereas the emotion fear leads to fear…

A school's reengineering must first make sense to the leadership team before being sold to a skeptical faculty. The principalship's real power lies in persuasion. The Six "I" Framework, a model to help principals argue persuasively for change, is based on interdisciplinary instruction, integrated instructional targets and assessment practices,…

A video recording about the college that evokes a nostalgic response can be extremely effective in a fund-raising campaign and can even be used to openly solicit donations. Older, affluent alumni are the prime target audience. Producing an effective video requires attention to technical, financial, and aesthetic factors. (MSE)

Describes a thinking/prewriting procedure which can be used to help writers clarify their thinking and increase their ability to express their thoughts orally or in writing. Describes a classroom experience where clustering is used to teach students how to write a persuasive piece and discusses other classroom applications of clustering. (MG)

Investigates how perceptions shape an argument (between friends) and vice versa. Shows the functions of perceptual agreement, perceptual disagreement, and perceptual understanding. (SR)

Shows how online content analysis can be used to measure the frequencies and contexts of issues that advertisers circulate to major media markets. An example of a study of word strings of advertising slogans, a description of the benchmarks of successful sloganeering, and strategies for planning a study are described. (KRN)

Transcripts of undergraduate group discussions uncovered strategies used to explore assumptions: defining, qualifying definitions, eliminating inappropriate meanings, broadening the context, testing generalizations by hypothesis and personal anecdote, challenging generalizations, challenging the original question, challenging the validity of…

Investigates the argumentation advanced in briefs, oral arguments, and the Supreme Court's opinion in the case of Miranda versus Arizona. Considers the background of the case, analyzes the argumentation and its influences on the court, and stresses the importance of viewing the Supreme Court as an active participant in the decision-making process.…

Examines the way third, fifth, and seventh graders evaluate evidence and reasoning with argumentative criteria to determine the extent to which children develop argumentation skills naturally. Finds that nearly all children adequately judged evidence and reasoning in arguments, and children exhibited systematic changes in ability to analyze…

Describes the context of the Valdez disaster in terms of an organizational crisis. Discusses the nature of scientific argument and the norms of scientific ethos as they represent an appropriate standard for measuring the ethics of profit-seeking organizations during times of crisis. (NH)

Describes how a writing teacher has his students write about one object in the four modes (description, narration, argumentation, and exposition) as a means of learning about writing and writing to learn. Suggests that students learn about their topics when they write about them in the four modes. (SR)

Reports a secondary data analysis of eight separate studies of cognitive editing, with regard to the question of whether males and females edit their persuasive messages differently. Finds that gender has modest direct effects on endorse-or-suppress decisions. Suggests that gender by situation interactions may have more influence. (SR)

Investigates the applicability of B. Weiner's attribution theory to compliance-gaining interactions. Finds that attributional dimensions (locus/controllability and stability) affected participants' persistence at seeking compliance, use of particular strategies, and perceptions of target sincerity. (SR)

Examines how individual status characteristics (expertise, occupational status, physical attractiveness, and majority and minority argument quality) influence minority member persuasiveness. Demonstrates that, although all variables influenced perceived status, only relative argument quality had a direct impact on attitude change. (SR)

Techniques for enhancing a computer-based presentation are outlined, including selection of an appropriate laptop computer, considerations in choosing presentation software, and factors in selection and use of a liquid crystal display (LCD) projector. Information is given on five currently available presentation programs. (MSE)