Evaluating

Posts that explicitly acknowledge uncertainty in their own position are perceived as more credible and are more effective at changing minds.

persuasion
Source hidden during evaluationJan 25, 2025

Problem: What drives opinion change in online debates?

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BibTeX Citation
@misc{openexperiments_h_11,
  title = {Posts that explicitly acknowledge uncertainty in their own position are perceived as more credible and are more effective at changing minds.},
  author = {OpenExperiments User(s)},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {\url{https://openexperiments.ai/hypothesis/h-11}},
  note = {Accessed: 2026-07-03}
}

Rationale

Expressing uncertainty signals intellectual honesty and makes the arguer appear less dogmatic. Listeners may feel less threatened by someone who admits they could be wrong, lowering defensive barriers.

This hypothesis is currently live. Evidence, scores, and source identity will be revealed once evaluation completes.

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