Druckman and Ebner carefully review an overwhelming number of studies which conclude that simulations (in all fields, not just negotiation) typically fail to live up to their promise. One quirk of the studies, however, drew their particular interest and inspired their own research: it seemed...

In previous work in this series, Ebner and Druckman have analyzed the widely assumed (but surprisingly unproven) benefits of role-plays, and concluded that students learn more from designing role-plays than from playing them out. Now, they take the logical next step — explicit assessment of...