Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

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Open Access Thesis

Keywords

Public speaking;

Abstract

This thesis reports on a study designed to determine if public figures are consistent between their public theoretical statements and later related public statements. Judging philosophies and ballots written by academic debate judges, one subset of public figures, are used to measure the consistency of public figures. A review of consistency theory research using commitment as a variable supports the assumption that public figures will be consistent. Public commitments have two effects. First, making a public commitment increases the expectancy of others that the public figure will be consistent. Second, making a public commitment increases the resistance to change on the part of the public figure making the commitment. An additional consideration of this thesis is the research setting used in consistency theory research. It is argued that the non-play-like environment is superior to a play-like environment and can be used successfully to test consistency theory hypotheses. The philosophies and ballots used in this research are obtained from thirty-two National Debate Tournament type tournaments. The method used to analyze the ballots and philosophies is thematic analysis, a form of content analysis. Thematic analysis is used for two reasons. First, the sample used in the study is a written sample and content analysis is particularly applicable to the study of written communications. Second, thematic analysis is used because this method is one of the best available for the analysis of issues and attitudes similar to those found in philosophies and ballots. A three step process is used to analyze the content of the philosophies and ballots. In step one the categories are established using the themes, or assertions, written in the philosophies. In step two recording units are identified on the ballots and assigned to the appropriate categories. Finally, the direction, consistency or inconsistency, of each recording unit is determined in relationship to the category it is assigned. The Chi Square statistic is used to test whether the debate judges are statistically consistent. Results of the research indicate public figures are consistent between theoretical public statements and later related public statements. The implications from this study to consistency theories and public figures are discussed. Assumptions concerning the consistency of public figures are supported. It is demonstrated how a non-play-like environment can be successfully used to test consistency hypotheses. Theoretical applications to oral activities of public figures are discussed. Finally, commitment research is applied to public figures. The implications from the study to academic debate are that debaters and coaches can use philosophies as a debate judge adaptation aid and pedagogical tool with confidence. Also, this study indicates the use of philosophies should be expanded in academic debate. Limitations of the research and suggestions for future research are discussed. Future research in two areas is suggested. First, additional research using debate ballots and philosophies is suggested. Second, this researcher suggests that the perspective of debate as a laboratory for communication research should be adopted.

Year of Submission

1981

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Department of Communication and Theatre Arts

First Advisor

Bill Henderson

Second Advisor

John Gossett

Third Advisor

Forrest Conklin

Comments

If you are the rightful copyright holder of this thesis and wish to have it removed from the Open Access Collection, please submit a request to scholarworks@uni.edu and include clear identification of the work, preferably with URL.

Date Original

1981

Object Description

1 PDF file (151 leaves)

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

Included in

Communication Commons

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