An exploratory test of an intuitive evaluation method of perceived argument strength

Bibliographic Data

ID6170486
AuthorsJos Hornikx (0000-0002-5362-0997, Radboud University Nijmegen), Annemarie Weerman (Radboud University Nijmegen), Hans Hoeken (0000-0002-7535-1273, Utrecht University)
Year2021
Publication date2021-12-17
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueStudies in Communication Sciences (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1424-4896 • E-ISSN: 2296-4150
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.24434/j.scoms.2022.02.003
OpenAlexW4200573091
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited13

According to Mercier and Sperber (2009, 2011, 2017), people have an immediate and intuitive feeling about the strength of an argument. These intuitive evaluations are not captured by current evaluation methods of argument strength, yet they could be important to predict the extent to which people accept the claim supported by the argument. In an exploratory study, therefore, a newly developed intuitive evaluation method to assess argument strength was compared to an explicit argument strength evaluation method (the PAS scale; Zhao et al., 2011), on their ability to predict claim acceptance (predictive validity) and on their sensitivity to differences in the manipulated quality of arguments (construct validity). An experimental study showed that the explicit argument strength evaluation performed well on the two validity measures. The intuitive evaluation measure, on the other hand, was not found to be valid. Suggestions for other ways of constructing and testing intuitive evaluation measures are presented

Argument (complex analysis · Cognitive psychology · Construct (python library · Construct validity · Developmental psychology · Feeling · Psychometrics · Test (biology · Computer Science · Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology