Deep Dark Deficits of the Adversary Evaluation Model

Abstract

As a spectator attraction, competition is hard to beat. Whether it’s a courtroom drama or a sporting event, we thrill as the contest totters in favor of one side, then the other. Perhaps it’s the uncertainty of the outcome that fascinates us. But whatever the appeal, it’s quite clear that ancient folks, like present-day ones, got genuinely excited by competitive events. The athletic contests of antiquity, whether Greek, Roman, or Mayan, were capable of drawing standing-room-only audiences.

Adapted from a paper presented as part of a symposium. “The Adversary Evaluation Model: A Second Look.” Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New York, April 4-8, 1977.