A devil’s advocate is a person assigned, or volunteering, to argue against a prevailing proposal in order to test its reasoning and expose weaknesses. In group decision-making, rotating the role legitimizes dissent and counters premature consensus. The name comes from an office in the Catholic canonization process.
- Entry typeKey concept
- Category of its source unitTheories & Explanatory Models
- DomainVoice, Silence & Power
What these mean
Editorial orientation · Entry type
Key concept
Key concepts are the working vocabulary of the field: the terms that the models and tools rely on and that a decision about communication has to use precisely. Each entry defines the term and sends you to the brief or the self-guided audit where it is put to work.
Editorial orientation · Category
Theories & Explanatory Models
Explains how or why a communication process works by relating mechanisms, conditions or variables. Its value is an account that can guide inquiry into what produces an outcome, rather than a name for the outcome alone.