Presents a formula for essay writing that forces the student to adopt a point of view from which to analyze and evaluate an author's argument. The format also addresses the problem of organization and mechanics. (HTH)

Uses research on attitude formation and change to derive strategies for achieving influence. Strategies include: giving both sides of an issue, stressing the need for consistency, identifying self-defeating behavior, and using role reversal. (Author)

Subjects (students, coaches, communication instructors, general public) listened to audiotaped speeches, indicated the criteria used in evaluating speeches, rated the importance of criteria, and ranked the speakers. Findings indicate that subjects tended to interpret and apply criteria differently. Study suggests need for stronger feedback between…

In a simulated adversary-advocacy evaluation of a computer-assisted school guidance program, the evaluation audience's reaction to different forms of data, the order of argument presentations, and the rated attitude of the evaluator are shown to influence audience agreement with evaluation recommendations. (CM)

Presents an activity for senior high government courses about how President Johnson used his powers of persuasion to obtain civil rights legislation. Students analyze the effectiveness of arguments and persuasive techniques in two letters from President Johnson to the Speaker of the House of Representatives. (RM)

Pictorial humorous illustrations were found to have (1) no effects on information acquisition and on motivation, (2) positive effects on appeal, and (3) negative effects on persuasiveness. (PD)

Results of an experiment manipulating violations of distancing expectations and physical attractiveness indicate that both may be sources of distraction. Offers modest support for the prediction that attractive individuals engaging in violations of expectations will serve as positive sources of distraction, leading to greater susceptibility to…

Discusses the development of the Great Society idea, its central themes, the rhetorical problem of its presentation and resolution. Obstacles to adopting the programs were overcome by employing conservative themes, claiming a moral imperative to act, and distinguishing the Great Society from older programs. (JMF)

Describes political consciousness in collectivities. Symbolist thought, focused on the idea of "myth," is linked with material thought, focused on the concept of "ideology." Suggests that a description of political consciousness can be constructed from the structures of meaning exhibited by a society's vocabulary of…

Tested the persuasiveness of three extended concluding metaphors: sex, death, and sex-death. (Speech topic for high school students was the anti-legalization of marihuana.) Results indicated that attitudes changed more toward the position advocated in the speech when it contained a concluding sex metaphor than when it did not. (PD)

Presents the major assumptions of cognitive-developmental theory on social reasoning processes. Provides a selective review of research on social reasoning in various domains and discusses implications of the cognitive-developmental analysis of social reasoning for argumentation theory. (JMF)

Lectures on the importance of mathematics were presented to an experimental group of secondary school boys to see if this strategy could improve attitudes toward mathematics and if improved attitudes increased achievement. The experimental groups' post-test scores on attitude and achievement showed gain, while controls' scores remained stable.…

Discusses six persuasive strategies utilized in Mississippi between 1954-1964 to defend White supremacy, to resist integration, to suppress internal opposition, and to thwart efforts of the federal government to end segregation. (JMF)

Examines the effects of the preparation and presentation of a speech on the changing attitudes of the speaker. Concludes that individual attitudes are affected by the preparation stage more than the presentation stage. Draws implications for the teaching of public speaking. (JMF)

Investigates adolescent egocentrism by examining the relationship between cognitive complexity, social perspective-taking, and communicative skills in early and late adolescents. Focuses upon the ability of adolescents to take the perspectives of other adolescents from within and outside their immediate social group in directing persuasive or…