Do People Perceive the Disagreement in Straw Man Fallacies? An Experimental Investigation

Abstract

So far, experimental studies on the straw man have targeted the misrepresentational dimension of this fallacy. In order to provide a more detailed understanding of the way the straw man is perceived, the focus of this paper lies on the refutational dimension. In two experiments, I will assess (1) if people are sensitive to the underlying disagreement expressed through the use of a straw man and (2) if question wording plays a role for the perception of disagreement. The results of the experiment show that participants indeed notice easily that the person performing a straw man disagrees with his opponent. It also emerges from the experiment that the difference between a positive or negative formulation of the experimental questions does not affect the perception of disagreement in the straw man. The underlying disagreement in the straw man is thus perceived either way.