ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to examine the validity of the beliefs of certain aspects of the superiority of small group-interaction, or dialogue, methods of public participation based on evidence from one large-scale participatory planning program. Dialogue methods of public participation are those utilizing a high degree of two-way communication as well as group sizes small enough to facilitate face-to-face interaction. The widespread acceptance of dialogue methods of public participation is reflected in the various "how-to" handbooks on participation design. Certain practice-based experiences have led observers to advocate dialogue methods. Despite widespread acceptance of dialogue superiority in the participation community, little work has been done to verify the assertion based upon actual field experience. The results reported cast some doubt on the view that dialogue methods of public participation are superior to nondialogue methods in terms of participant knowledgeability and attitude congruence. For the unaffiliated group, dialogue methods of participation were found to increase participant knowledgeability.
