Uploaded December 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Research suggests that authentic dissent frequently leads a group to better decisions than a contrarian simply playing “Devil’s Advocate.” The question is: why should it matter if someone really disagrees, or is just faking it?
- Links for the Curious -
Devil's advocate versus authentic dissent: stimulating
quantity and quality (Nemeth et al, 2001) - researchgate.net/profile/Charlan_Nemeth/publication/229780153_Devil%27s_advocate_versus_authentic_dissent_Stimulating_quantity_and_quality/links/5eb96dd74585152169c6287e/Devils-advocate-versus-authentic-dissent-Stimulating-quantity-and-quality.pdf
Why do humans reason? Arguments for an argumentative theory (Mercier & Sperber, 2011) - pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21447233
The Influence of Social Interaction on Intuitions of Objectivity and Subjectivity (Fisher et al, 2016) - onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cogs.12380?identityKey=5df892a1-56cf-4803-9900-62e46db16887®ionCode=US-NY&wol1URL=%2Fdoi%2F10.1111%2Fcogs.12380%2Ffull
Minority Influence Theory (Nemeth, 2009) - escholarship.org/content/qt1pz676t7/qt1pz676t7.pdf
In-Class Debates: Fertile Ground for Active Learning and the
Cultivation of Critical Thinking and Oral Communication Skills (Kennedy, 2007) - isetl.org/ijtlhe/pdf/IJTLHE19(2).pdf#page=83
Dissoi Logoi (Robinson, 1979) - web.archive.org/web/20100714195741/http://www2.comm.niu.edu/faculty/kwhedbee/dissoilogoi.pdf
Groups of diverse problem solvers can outperform groups of high-ability problem solvers (Hong & Page, 2004) - https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/scottepage/wp-content/uploads/sites/344/2015/11/pnas.pdf
Why do men want to play devil's advocate? An investigation - gq-magazine.co.uk/lifestyle/article/devils-advocate
Opinion | The Dying Art of Disagreement - nytimes.com/2017/09/24/opinion/dying-art-of-disagreement.html
The Social Epistemology of Argument – Problems in Argument Analysis and Evaluation - https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/wsia062018/chapter/13/
Updating on the Credences of Others:
Disagreement, Agreement, and Synergy (Easwaran et al, 2015) - joelvelasco.net/Papers/synergy_preprint.pdf
Detecting true and false opinions: The Devil's Advocate approach as a lie detection aid (Leal et al, 2010) - pure.port.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/128505/Devils_advocate.pdf
Effects of the Expert, Devil’s Advocate, & Dialectical Inquiry Methods on Prediction Performance (Schwenk et al, 1980) - core.ac.uk/reader/4835430
Deviance and Dissent in Groups (Jessen, 2013) - researchgate.net/profile/Jolanda-Jetten/publication/237095760_Deviance_and_Dissent_in_Groups/links/53eaa90d0cf2dc24b3ce6f01/Deviance-and-Dissent-in-Groups.pdf
Group Creativity (see chapter by Nemeth) - google.com/books/edition/Group_Creativity/9QE2fXW_ce0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA63&printsec=frontcover
64. The Argumentative Theory of Human Reason - youtube.com/watch?v=Cduyyif7BVY
135. Aumann's Agreement Theorem & Arguing to Learn - youtube.com/watch?v=hR5Bp7oCidI
Research suggests that authentic dissent frequently leads a group to better decisions than a contrarian simply playing “Devil’s Advocate.” The question is: why should it matter if someone really disagrees, or is just faking it?
- Links for the Curious -
Devil's advocate versus authentic dissent: stimulating
quantity and quality (Nemeth et al, 2001) - researchgate.net/profile/Charlan_Nemeth/publication/229780153_Devil%27s_advocate_versus_authentic_dissent_Stimulating_quantity_and_quality/links/5eb96dd74585152169c6287e/Devils-advocate-versus-authentic-dissent-Stimulating-quantity-and-quality.pdf
Why do humans reason? Arguments for an argumentative theory (Mercier & Sperber, 2011) - pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21447233
The Influence of Social Interaction on Intuitions of Objectivity and Subjectivity (Fisher et al, 2016) - onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cogs.12380?identityKey=5df892a1-56cf-4803-9900-62e46db16887®ionCode=US-NY&wol1URL=%2Fdoi%2F10.1111%2Fcogs.12380%2Ffull
Minority Influence Theory (Nemeth, 2009) - escholarship.org/content/qt1pz676t7/qt1pz676t7.pdf
In-Class Debates: Fertile Ground for Active Learning and the
Cultivation of Critical Thinking and Oral Communication Skills (Kennedy, 2007) - isetl.org/ijtlhe/pdf/IJTLHE19(2).pdf#page=83
Dissoi Logoi (Robinson, 1979) - web.archive.org/web/20100714195741/http://www2.comm.niu.edu/faculty/kwhedbee/dissoilogoi.pdf
Groups of diverse problem solvers can outperform groups of high-ability problem solvers (Hong & Page, 2004) - https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/scottepage/wp-content/uploads/sites/344/2015/11/pnas.pdf
Why do men want to play devil's advocate? An investigation - gq-magazine.co.uk/lifestyle/article/devils-advocate
Opinion | The Dying Art of Disagreement - nytimes.com/2017/09/24/opinion/dying-art-of-disagreement.html
The Social Epistemology of Argument – Problems in Argument Analysis and Evaluation - https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/wsia062018/chapter/13/
Updating on the Credences of Others:
Disagreement, Agreement, and Synergy (Easwaran et al, 2015) - joelvelasco.net/Papers/synergy_preprint.pdf
Detecting true and false opinions: The Devil's Advocate approach as a lie detection aid (Leal et al, 2010) - pure.port.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/128505/Devils_advocate.pdf
Effects of the Expert, Devil’s Advocate, & Dialectical Inquiry Methods on Prediction Performance (Schwenk et al, 1980) - core.ac.uk/reader/4835430
Deviance and Dissent in Groups (Jessen, 2013) - researchgate.net/profile/Jolanda-Jetten/publication/237095760_Deviance_and_Dissent_in_Groups/links/53eaa90d0cf2dc24b3ce6f01/Deviance-and-Dissent-in-Groups.pdf
Group Creativity (see chapter by Nemeth) - google.com/books/edition/Group_Creativity/9QE2fXW_ce0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA63&printsec=frontcover
64. The Argumentative Theory of Human Reason - youtube.com/watch?v=Cduyyif7BVY
135. Aumann's Agreement Theorem & Arguing to Learn - youtube.com/watch?v=hR5Bp7oCidI
