The effect of ad hominem attacks on the evaluation of claims promoted by scientists

Journal article


Ralph M. Barnes, Heather M. Johnston, Noah MacKenzie, Stephanie Tobin and Chelsea M. Taglang. (2018). The effect of ad hominem attacks on the evaluation of claims promoted by scientists. PLoS ONE. 13(1), pp. 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0192025
AuthorsRalph M. Barnes, Heather M. Johnston, Noah MacKenzie, Stephanie Tobin and Chelsea M. Taglang
Abstract

Two experiments were conducted to determine the relative impact of direct and indirect (ad hominem) attacks on science claims. Four hundred and thirty-nine college students (Experiment 1) and 199 adults (Experiment 2) read a series of science claims and indicated their attitudes towards those claims. Each claim was paired with one of the following: A) a direct attack upon the empirical basis of the science claim B) an ad hominem attack on the scientist who made the claim or C) both. Results indicate that ad hominem attacks may have the same degree of impact as attacks on the empirical basis of the science claims, and that allegations of conflict of interest may be just as influential as allegations of outright fraud.

Year2018
JournalPLoS ONE
Journal citation13 (1), pp. 1-15
PublisherPublic Library of Science
ISSN1932-6203
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0192025
Scopus EID2-s2.0-85041216611
Open accessPublished as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
Publisher's version
License
File Access Level
Open
Publication process dates
Deposited13 May 2021
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https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/item/8w0qw/the-effect-of-ad-hominem-attacks-on-the-evaluation-of-claims-promoted-by-scientists

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OA_Barnes_2018_The_effect_of_ad_hominem_attacks.pdf
License: CC BY 4.0
File access level: Open

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