Attitudes towards the scientific search for extraterrestrial life among Swedish high school and university students

Abstract

The aim of this study is to increase our understanding of the attitudes towards the scientific search for extraterrestrial life among high school and university students in Sweden. The most important results of the analysis are that: (a) the great majority of students believe that extraterrestrial life exists; (b) most students regard searching for extraterrestrial life to be quite important or very important; (c) very few students think that we should actively avoid searching for extraterrestrial life; (d) the most common motive for assigning a high priority to search for extraterrestrial life is that it is interesting, the most common motive for assigning a low priority is that such knowledge would not be practically useful, or that the money would be better spent elsewhere; (e) most students do not think they are very well informed regarding the search for extraterrestrial life. A higher percentage of the students who judge themselves to be well informed also believe that extraterrestrial life exists. We have also found some differences between subgroups (men/women, high school students/university students and different fields of study), but the differences are with few exceptions small in comparison with the overall trends, and they mostly differ in degree rather than direction.

Attitudes and perceptions towards the scientific search for extraterrestrial life among students of public and private universities in Peru

“…Great interest can be seen in students about the search for extraterrestrial life, which coincides with the results also obtained in Persson et al (2018) in which they obtained 90% who believe that there is life outside the Earth from 492 respondents, while in this study we have 92% of 1237. And just like them, we also note the need to scientifically promote these areas of interest, for which the State should promote topics related to astrobiology in the country.…”

“…Under this approach, the study was based on one developed in Sweden with students from schools and universities, in which the trend of scientific attitudes towards extraterrestrial life was analysed (Persson et al ., 2018). The importance of the investigation is based on the vindicating action of the student population's search for extraterrestrial life forms.…”

“…Firstly, it brings insights into how students perceive the field, its research questions and the subject area in general. Secondly, it enables us to assess the level of interest in the discipline; and finally, it helps us understand how scientific enquiries shape of public opinion and attitudes towards a given branch of knowledge (Persson et al ., 2018).…”

Astrobioethics: a brief discussion from the epistemological, religious and societal dimension

“…They share interests of the same nature. The search for extraterrestrial life is a good test case since it is a field that evokes much interest among students as well as the general public, and since it is a field that encompasses many different scientific disciplines and even deals with questions that need to be considered in a wider societal context (Persson et al ., 2018). …”

How Will the Emerging Plurality of Lives Change How We Conceive of and Relate to Life?

“…-One report on the status of astrobiology in Europe and its relation to European society [3]. -One journal article on the attitudes towards the scientific search for extraterrestrial life among high school and university students in Sweden [114]. -…”