Addressing Challenges to Public Understanding of Science: Epistemic Cognition, Motivated Reasoning, and Conceptual Change

Sinatra, Gale M.; Kienhues, Dorothe; Hofer, Barbara K.

doi:10.1080/00461520.2014.916216

Cited by 301 publications

(240 citation statements)

References 81 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

210

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…This finding is not surprising when taken into consideration with suggestions that epistemic cognition is not a norm in everyday dialogue, in addition to moral reasoning or conceptual change (Sinatra et al 2014). Epistemic cognition has been used recently as "an umbrella term for the beliefs people hold about the nature of knowledge and knowing and the application and influence of such beliefs when considering scientific and socio-scientific everyday problems" (Sinatra et al 2014:126 [emphasis in the original]).…”

Section: Elusive Epistemic Changementioning

confidence: 96%

Analyzing stakeholders’ workshop dialogue for evidence of social learning

Brymer¹,

Wulfhorst²,

Brunson³

2018

E&S

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ABSTRACT. After much debate and synthesis, social learning scholarship is entering an era of empirical research. Given the range across individual-, network-, and systems-level perspectives and scales, clear documentation of social learning processes is critical for making claims about social learning outcomes and their impacts. Past studies have relied on participant recall and concept maps to document perceptions of social learning process and outcome. Using an individual-centric perspective and importing ideas from communication and psychology on question-answer learning through conversational agents, we contribute an expanded conceptual framework and qualitative analytical strategy for assessing stakeholder dialogue for evidence of social learning. We observed stakeholder dialogue across five workshops coordinated for the Bruneau-Owyhee Sage-Grouse Habitat Project (BOSH) in Owyhee County, Idaho, USA. Participants' dialogue was audio recorded, transcribed, and analyzed for cross-case patterns. Deductive and inductive coding techniques were applied to illuminate cognitive, relational, and epistemic dimensions of learning and topics of learning. A key finding supports our inclusion of the epistemic dimension and highlights a need for future research: although some participants articulated epistemic positions, they did not challenge each other to share sources or justify factual claims. These findings align with previous research suggesting that, in addition to considering diversity and representation (who is at the table), we should pay more attention to how participants talk, perhaps prompting specific patterns of speech as we endeavor to draw causal connections between social learning processes and outcomes.

show abstract

Section: Elusive Epistemic Changementioning

confidence: 96%

Analyzing stakeholders’ workshop dialogue for evidence of social learning

Brymer¹,

Wulfhorst²,

Brunson³

2018

E&S

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In a society where virtually every aspect of our lives is in some way based on science and technology, it is very important for the public to understand the findings and achievements of scientific research (Sapp et al, 2013;Sinatra et al, 2014). In addition, research institutions are subject to increasing scrutiny regarding their use of public funding.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emotionalization in Science Communication: The Impact of Narratives and Visual Representations on Knowledge Gain and Risk Perception

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The communication of scientific information plays an increasingly important role for scientists and scientific institutions. This is especially true of institutions in the field of biodiversity and conservation research, since the transfer of research results to the public is a prerequisite for decision-making, and the success of conservation measures often depends on public acceptance or active contribution. To have the desired impact, science communication in the context of human-wildlife interactions must enable recipients to (1) gain valid knowledge, (2) form an attitude toward the subject matter, and (3) develop an adequate understanding of the risks and dangers associated with human-wildlife interactions, which are usually overestimated by the general public. Using the topic of foxes in urban habitats, we investigated the role of emotionalization in science communication.In a laboratory experiment with 127 university students (91 females), we manipulated textual and visual features in an information brochure about foxes and examined their impact on people's knowledge gain, attitude development, and modified risk perception. In particular, we compared a narrative presentation to a non-narrative list of facts and examined the use of photographs of young foxes. We found a positive development in all of the outcome variables from the pre-to the posttest (more knowledge, more positive attitude, lower risk perception). We also found an interaction effect of text type and visualization on knowledge gain that highlighted the importance of the fit between text type and visualization. In contrast to our expectations, we did not find any differential effects of specific treatments on attitude development. Finally, we found a main effect of text type on modified risk perception, indicating less reduction of risk perception with a narrative article than with a fact list. We discuss our findings with respect to the role of emotionalization in science communication, stressing that it is particularly important to achieve a suitable fit between textual and visual forms of emotionalization, depending on the goal of communication. We also discuss possible explanations as to why some hypotheses were not supported by the data. In our concluding statements, we refer to limitations of the present study and address implications for future research.

show abstract

“…and Development -OECD [3,4] it is to be expected that an educated and more participatory society would be more cohesive and its citizens would be actively engaged in civic activities, making informed decisions about science-related issues [5].…”

Section: Experimentation and Methodology Used For The Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The scientific culture that ensures the engagement of citizens in science and technology has become a remarkable issue in the public discourse and the academic research concerns [4], leading to an emergence of disciplines and concepts related to science [7] such as: "scientific literacy" [8], "public understanding" [5], "public perception" [9], "awareness" of science and technology, public "engagement in" [10] or "attitudes toward" S&T.…”

Section: Experimentation and Methodology Used For The Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

The perception of colombians about science and technology according to their education level: professional and non-professional population

Hurtado

Osorio-Marulanda²,

Rodas

et al. 2016

Rev. Fac. Ing. Univ. Antioquia

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This document discusses the results of the implementation of the ThirdNational Survey on Public Perception of Science and Technology applied in Colombia. It analyzes the effect of education over some aspects related to the perception about Science and Technology of the Colombians, considering variables such as age and professionalization of the population. Methodologically, the research type is quantitative and descriptive; it uses statistical tools like frequency tables, histograms and subsampling techniques to avoid a biased comparison of the populations. The major findings presented are that the level of education acquired and the formal training actually have significance regarding the perceptions about science and technology in the studied population; it proved to affect the perception and attitude towards issues as the preference in the choice of a career for daughters and sons, the tendency for reviewing instructions and exploring the use of the information, the perception of whether the country works on science or not, and if people make science and technology. In the future, it will be required an approach based on differential studies, addressing the impact of the dissemination of science and technology. RESUMEN:Este documento analiza los resultados de la aplicación de la Tercera Encuesta Nacional sobre Percepción Pública de la Ciencia y la Tecnología aplicada en Colombia. Analiza el efecto de la educación sobre algunos aspectos de la percepción sobre la ciencia y tecnología, teniendo en cuenta variables como la edad y la profesionalización de la población. Metodológicamente, el tipo de investigación es cuantitativa y descriptiva; utiliza herramientas estadísticas como tablas de frecuencias, histogramas y técnicas submuestreo para evitar una comparación sesgada de las poblaciones. Los principales hallazgos presentados son que el nivel de educación adquirido y la formación tienen realmente un efecto en lo que respecta a las percepciones sobre la ciencia y la tecnología en la población estudiada; se demuestra que se afecta su percepción y actitud en cuestiones como la preferencia en la elección de una carrera para hijas e hijos, la tendencia en revisión de instrucciones y exploración del uso de información, la opinión sobre si en el país se trabaja en ciencia o no y si la gente hace ciencia y tecnología. Se concluye sobre la importancia de futuros estudios diferenciales para el reconocimiento del impacto de la divulgación de la Ciencia y la Tecnología.

show abstract

Addressing Challenges to Public Understanding of Science: Epistemic Cognition, Motivated Reasoning, and Conceptual Change

Cited by 301 publications

References 81 publications

Analyzing stakeholders’ workshop dialogue for evidence of social learning

Analyzing stakeholders’ workshop dialogue for evidence of social learning

Emotionalization in Science Communication: The Impact of Narratives and Visual Representations on Knowledge Gain and Risk Perception

The perception of colombians about science and technology according to their education level: professional and non-professional population

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Addressing Challenges to Public Understanding of Science: Epistemic Cognition, Motivated Reasoning, and Conceptual Change

Cited by 301 publications

References 81 publications

Analyzing stakeholders&#8217; workshop dialogue for evidence of social learning

Analyzing stakeholders&#8217; workshop dialogue for evidence of social learning

Emotionalization in Science Communication: The Impact of Narratives and Visual Representations on Knowledge Gain and Risk Perception

The perception of colombians about science and technology according to their education level: professional and non-professional population

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Analyzing stakeholders’ workshop dialogue for evidence of social learning

Analyzing stakeholders’ workshop dialogue for evidence of social learning