Article
Arguing against confirmation bias: The effect of argumentative discourse goals on the use of disconfirming evidence in written argument
International Journal of Educational Research
(2016)
Abstract
This study explores the impact of argumentative discourse goals on confirmation bias in young adults. All participants were presented three types of graphical evidence: data supporting their initial view, challenging their initial view and ambiguous data that could be interpreted either way. They were asked to use the evidence to write argumentative essays before and after engaging in a chat-based dialogue with a partner who held an opposing view. Dyads were assigned to one of two argumentative discourse goal conditions: Argue to persuade or argue to reach consensus. At the posttest, participants in the persuasion condition were more likely to misinterpret evidence and less likely to reference their dialogue than peers in the consensus condition. Educational implications are discussed.
Keywords
- Confirmation bias,
- Evidence-based reasoning,
- Argumentative discourse,
- Collaborative argument
Disciplines
Publication Date
January 1, 2016
DOI
10.1016/j.ijer.2016.06.009
Publisher Statement
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Citation Information
Constanza Villarroel, Mark Felton and Merce Garcia-Mila. "Arguing against confirmation bias: The effect of argumentative discourse goals on the use of disconfirming evidence in written argument" International Journal of Educational Research Vol. 79 (2016) p. 167 - 179 ISSN: 0883-0355 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/mark-felton/2/