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The present study was designed to investigate possible situational determinants of anxiety (state and trait) as a function of either a stress provoking situation or a non-stress provoking situation. Also under investigation were possible differences that would emerge on measures of anxiety between subjects labeled as having an internal or external locus of control. Time was a third variable under consideration. This factor was manipulated as a repeated measures variable as a function of whether anxiety scores would increase or decrease when measured at two different points in time. A state measure of anxiety, a trait measure of anxiety, an internal-external locus of control scale and a questionnaire were administered to forty-five undergraduates. An analysis of variance for a 2X2X2 factorial design with repeated measures was used to analyze the data. A significant main effect was found for the factor Time on the dependent measure of trait anxiety. A correlational analysis was also performed.The significant effect of Time on trait measurements of anxiety suggest that this variable may fluctuate more frequently than previously considered by other researchers or that the state/trait dichotomy of anxiety may not be a discriminant variable and that, therefore, only one anxiety component exists. Another viable hypothesis in regards to the state measure of anxiety, is that the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List (MAACL) is not as sensitive to day-to-day fluctuations of anxiety as reported in previous research (Zuckerman, 1974).

This thesis examines Senator John McCain’s concession address from the 2008 United States Presidential election campaign. McCain’s concession speech was significant because of his come-from-behind victory in the Republican primary, the favorable critical responses to his speech, and his response to the historic nature of a person of color winning the presidential election. This study is also significant because it contributes to the small body of literature that examines concession addresses. This study examined how well McCain’s concession speech demonstrated the qualities associated with the genre, if McCain’s concession functioned as a model speech, and whether McCain’s concession might signal an evolution of the genre. The method used to critique McCain’s concession was generic application, using a combined framework of Chesebro and Hamsher’s (1974) and Ritter and Howell’s (1974) characteristics of the concession genre. This method entailed applying the characteristics of the concession genre to McCain’s speech to determine if the artifact constitutes a strong example of the genre. The study found that McCain’s speech demonstrated qualities associated with the genre of concession speeches well, functioning as a model because he utilized rhetorical techniques that were uniquely successful for him, and that scholars and practitioners of should be flexible in their application of the genre constraints associated with concession speeches. / Department of Communication Studies