The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the differential application of reinforcing and punishing light cues in the manipulation of verbal behavior and leadership status in small groups. (Author)

Both sides of advertising--the insidious and the artistic--should be studied in every composition class.

Confirms the hypothesis that individuals with high apprehension of writing encoded significantly less intense messages than did those with low apprehension. (RB)

This experimental comparison of the advertising effectiveness of television, movies, radio, and print finds no support for McLuhan's idea that television is a "cool" medium and movies are a "hot" medium. (RB)

A study of rhetorical behaviors in mass movements. (CH)

A test of attitudes toward arguments based on varied levels of probability. (CH)

Transformational, charismatic leadership occurs in a conflict-ridden situation, where attendant emotional travail is so uncomfortable that macro and micro structures will admit to change in efforts to relieve the tension. An inspirational message that redefines and reprioritizes deeply cherished values and the leader's role-modeling influence…

Using rhetorical and historical approaches, this paper examines speech excerpts of four speakers active during the civil rights movement in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The paper's first section discusses Malcolm X and a speech delivered two months before his assassination; the second section studies James Allen speaking on…

This paper provides a selected review of political candidate campaign advertising studies from the political science, mass communication, advertising, and political communication literature. The paper examines the literature in terms of research pertaining to (1) candidate advertising content (commercials for male versus female candidates and for…

Ronald Reagan's rhetorical presidency can be summarized as a leader attempting, at virtually every occasion, to stem the dissolution of the American spirit by celebrating the country's mythic past. Such attempts were Reagan's celebration of nationalism through a particular discussion of the interrelationships between liberty, freedom, democracy,…

About 350,000 freelance magazine articles were purchased by magazine editors last year from the 22,000 freelancers and 225,000 would-be freelancers in the United States. A study examined the factors editors judge most important in selecting freelance magazine article proposals, using factor analysis and qualitative examination of persuasive…

Noting a dearth of research on the ethical use of evidence in forensic competitions, a case analysis details a speech delivered by a contestant who apparently borrowed both ideas and writing from another source. In a prize-winning speech, the contestant used source deception, plagiarism, and "pseudo" sources (attribution to sources…

A study examined some of the questions that have been raised regarding D. A. Infante and A. S. Rancer's (1982) Argumentativeness Scale. Specifically, the wording of the scale was examined. Operating under the principle that the use of the process word "arguing" and the product word "argument," as well as mention of issues or…

To develop a taxonomy of Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) critics, a study associated professed judging philosophy and responses to survey questions with ballot behavior and elaborated judging profiles. Subjects were debate critics who judged rounds at CEDA tournaments in the Northeast during the Spring 1989 season. In all, 13 critics…