1. Robert S. Littlefield is a professor of communication and Steven J. Venette is Director of the Group Decision Center at North Dakota State University , Fargo, ND; both having coached college and high school policy debate teams. The authors wish to thank James M. Copeland, of the National Forensic League, and Robert Heder, of the North Dakota High School Activities Association, for their assistance in gaining access to the populations from which the respondents were drawn.