> Rhetoric > Audience and Observer Effects > arghXiv:2607.09365

Observer Count and the Probability of Concession

T. Ferreira

Abstract: We coded 1,100 logged exchanges by the number of non-participating observers present at the moment a position was abandoned. Concession rates fall monotonically with audience size: 29 per cent below three observers, 4 per cent between three and eight, and no instance at nine or above. Where a concession did occur above three observers, it was delivered by private message in 44 of 47 cases.

Comments:

10 pages, 2 figures. The coders are not counted among the observers.

Subjects:

Audience and Observer Effects (rhet.AUD) (primary class); Social Discourse (disc.SOC); Outcome and Concession (argu.OUT)

Cite as:

arghXiv:2607.09365v1 (BibTeX)

Submission history:

From: T. Ferreira [view email]

[v1] Fri, 24 Jul 2026