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appeal_to_spite
The appeal to spite encourages someone to accept or reject a position based on feelings of bitterness, resentment, or the desire to harm an adversary, rather than on evidence or reason. It hijacks negative emotions toward a person or group to motivate agreement with an argument that may have no logical connection to those emotions.
"Your ex-husband supports that charity? Then you definitely shouldn't donate to it. Don't give him the satisfaction of knowing you agree with him on anything."
A colleague tells a coworker: 'I know the merger might actually benefit the company, but our old boss — the one who passed you over for promotion — championed this deal. Voting against it is the least you can do after what he put you through.'
A political ad says: 'The elite media pundits who laughed at your town, called your values backward, and ignored your struggles for decades — they all support Candidate X's tax plan. Isn't that reason enough to vote against it?'
Binary (yes/no) questions an LLM must answer to identify this aspect:
Does the argument exploit feelings of spite or hatred?
Type: binaryIs the negative emotion directed at a person or group used to justify a conclusion?
Type: binaryIs the spite or hatred relevant to the truth of the claim?
Type: binaryThe appeal to spite encourages someone to accept or reject a position based on feelings of bitterness, resentment, or the desire to harm an adversary, rather than on evidence or reason. It hijacks negative emotions toward a person or group to motivate agreement with an argument that may have no logical connection to those emotions.
Spite and resentment are powerful motivators that can override rational self-interest. People will sometimes act against their own benefit just to harm or oppose someone they dislike.
Recognize the emotional manipulation and evaluate the issue independently of your feelings toward the person involved: 'Is this position good or bad on its own merits, regardless of who else supports it?'
Common in divorce proceedings, political partisanship (opposing policies solely because the other party supports them), workplace rivalries, and competitive business decisions driven by grudges rather than strategy.
Use these tools to detect, analyze, or train this aspect.