Public responses to scientific research: Does disciplinary attribution matter?

Abstract

Research has shown that the form and content of science communications can influence individuals’ responses. This study examines whether individuals’ perceptions of scientific research are influenced by the discipline to which the research is attributed. Two vignette experiments find that neither the perceived scientific-ness nor trustworthiness of a study originating from sociology is affected by attributing the study to a different social science or to a natural or medical science. These null findings contrast with surveys showing sizable disciplinary differences in public attitudes. It is possible that disciplinary attribution is a less salient cognitive shortcut when presented in longer communications as compared to survey questions that only provide the name of a discipline. We conclude with suggestions for further research on the role of disciplinary attribution on public perceptions of science.

Факторы Общественного Доверия Науке: Обзор Эмпирических Исследований

“…Доверие как критерий оценки измеряется с помощью прямого указания того, насколько респондент доверяет знаниям, ученым, научным исследованиям и науке. Например, респондентам предлагают для ознакомления научную информацию (прогноз, результаты исследования, высказывания ученых) и просят оценить доверие ей [Siegrist, Cvetkovich, 2001;Scheitle, Guthrie, 2019;Howe et al, 2019;Joslyn, Demnitz, 2021]. Или же респонденту может быть задан вопрос о том, насколько заслуживают доверия конкретные ученые, описанные в стимульном материале [Critchley, 2008;Critchley, Bruce, Farrugia, 2013;Jarreau et al, 2019], или научное сообщество [Kotcher et al, 2017;Lee, Kim, 2018;Beauchamp, Rios, 2020]; насколько респондент доверяет научным исследованиям вообще [Graffigna et al, 2021] или в определенной области [Anvari, Lakens, 2018]; науке в целом [Luna, Bering, Halberstadt, 2021] или науке конкретной страны [Groeniger et al, 2021].…”

Plausibility of scientific findings: institutional factors in lay evaluations

“…Studies indicate disciplinary differences in public attitudes [National Science Board, 2014], while the research on public perceptions of science rarely considers their role. With a few recent exceptions [Scheitle & Guthrie, 2019], studies on public perceptions are mostly either focusing on science in general, are problem-specific [Critchley, Bruce & Farrugia, 2013;Hmielowski, Feldman, Myers, Leiserowitz & Maibach, 2014], or concentrating on particular disciplines [Wingen, Berkessel & Englich, 2020;Hendriks & Jucks, 2020], not allowing to grasp possible effects of the discipline of the research. As for the institutional attribution and funding, the previous studies show that publicly funded university scientists are more trusted compared to those getting their funding from private companies [Critchley, 2008;Critchley et al, 2013], but they do not differentiate between universities and do not consider their prestige, nor do they investigate the purported specific effects of the funding amount.…”