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Equivocation – using a term with more than one meaning in a statement without specifying which meaning is intended. [21] Ambiguous middle term – using a middle term with multiple meanings. [22] Definitional retreat – changing the meaning of a word when an objection is raised. [23]
The lexical ambiguity of a word or phrase applies to it having more than one meaning in the language to which the word belongs. [4] "Meaning" here refers to whatever should be represented by a good dictionary. For instance, the word "bank" has several distinct lexical definitions, including "financial institution" and "edge of a river".
This category relates to specifically sociological terms and concepts. Wider societal terms that do not have a specific sociological nature about them should be added to social concepts in keeping with the WikiProject Sociology scope for the subject.
Others apply the term more broadly to the tendency to preserve one's existing beliefs when searching for evidence, interpreting it, or recalling it from memory. [ 6 ] [ b ] Confirmation bias is a result of automatic, unintentional strategies rather than deliberate deception.
This is due to the fact that many terms in natural language have ambiguous or vague meanings. [23] [12] [8] [1] Ambiguous terms have several meanings while vague terms have an unclear meaning. Fallacies of ambiguity often result in merely verbal disputes: the arguing parties have different topics in mind and thereby talk past each other without ...
Social ties, for example, can be analyzed in terms of an individual's perception of the relationships between his or her self (p), another person (o), and the topic (e.g., issue, belief, value, object) of focus (x). According to Heider, a balanced triangle is accomplished when all three links are positive, or two are negative and one is ...
The term was coined by Robert Cialdini in his 1984 book Influence: Science and Practice. Social proof is used in ambiguous social situations where people are unable to determine the appropriate mode of behavior , and is driven by the assumption that the surrounding people possess more knowledge about the current situation.
In logic, equivocation ("calling two different things by the same name") is an informal fallacy resulting from the use of a particular word or expression in multiple senses within an argument. [1] [2] It is a type of ambiguity that stems from a phrase having two or more distinct meanings, not from the grammar or structure of the sentence. [1]