Developing a Cross-Cultural Model for Explaining Differences in Argument Structures

这个项目有两个主要目的：(A)找到一种有效的方法来理解非正式论点的结构特征；(B)考察解释非正式论点结构特征差异的变量。为了实现这些目标，收集和分析了大学生就争议问题所写的论据。本研究的主要发现如下：(1)铃木的论元编码方案(2005,2006)能够以可接受的信度描述非正式的书面论据。(2)以下指标成功地描述了论证特征：(A)两个水平微观结构指标，包括轮辐和链状水平微观结构；(B)两个垂直微观结构指标，包括串联和复合微观推理结构；以及c两个宏观结构指标，包括高潮-反高潮和水平-垂直宏观结构。(3)对于日本样本，本研究提出的模型能够解释变量(争议性和投入性)与书面辩论中结构指标的使用之间的关系。(4)文化、自我建构和争辩之间似乎存在联系，这可能是不同文化背景的人在构建论点的方式上存在差异的原因之一。

This project has two major purposes: (a) to find out an effective way of understanding structural features of informal argument and (b) to examine variables that explain differences in the structural features of informal argument. To accomplish the goals, arguments written by college students on controversial issues were collected and analyzed. The following are the major findings of this project.(1) It was found that Suzuki's argument coding scheme (2005, 2006) is capable of describing informal written arguments with an acceptable reliability of above.8. (2) The following indicators describe argument features successfully: (a) two horizontal micro structural indicators, which include spoke and chain horizontal micro structures, (b) two vertical micro structural indicators, which include serial and compound micro reasoning structures, and c two macro structural indicators, which include climactic-anticlimactic and horizontal-vertical macro structures. (3) For the Japanese sample, the model proposed in this study can explain the relationships between the variables (argumentativeness and involvement) and the use of structural indicators in written arguments. (4) There appears to be relationships between culture, self-construal, and argumentativeness, which may provide a reason why people from different cultures differ in the way they construct argument.