Survey of over 2,000 adults in the UK identifies potential pitfalls of science communication. Why do people hold highly variable attitudes towards well-evidenced science? For many years researchers focused on what people know about science, thinking that “to know science is to love it.” But do peop
Survey of over 2,000 adults in the UK identifies potential pitfalls of science communication.
by Cristina Fonseca of the Genetics Society, UK; Laurence Hurst of the Milner Centre for Evolution, University of Bath, UK; and colleagues, finds that people with strong attitudes tend to believe they understand science, while neutrals are less confident. Overall, the study revealed that people with strong negative attitudes to science tend to be overconfident about their level of understanding.
The team focused on genetic science and asked attitudinal questions, such as: “Many claims about the benefits of modern genetic science are greatly exaggerated.” People could say how much they agreed or disagreed with such a statement. They also asked questions about how much they believe they understand about such science, including: “When you hear the term, how would you rate your understanding of what the term means.” All individuals were scored from zero to one .
When it was thought that what mattered most for scientific literacy was scientific knowledge, science communication focused on passing information from scientists to the public. However, this approach may not be successful, and in some cases can backfire. The present work suggests that working to address the discrepancies between what people know and what they believe they know may be a better strategy.
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Men seeking services of sex workers keep knocking on door of fed up Texas retireeElaine White said she's been plagued by more than two dozen men knocking on her door at all hours since April of last with the latest un-welcomed visitor dropping by on Jan. 16. 'I feel violated,' White said. 'This is my safe space, in here.'
Read more »
Adorable Voles, Life as We Don’t Know It and Better CementLove in the brain, how dreams predict disease and better words for climate change in this month’s issue of Scientific American
Read more »
#AskAlyson: My child has decided she wants a career in the militaryWe are grooming our kids to be impressed with superiority more than we are fostering attributes of caring and compassion. This isn’t a parenting mistake — it’s a cultural atrocity. – via healthing_ca alysonschafer children parenting millitary
Read more »
Goldman Sachs CEO makes $25 million after 30% pay cutInsider tells the global tech, finance, markets, media, healthcare, and strategy stories you want to know.
Read more »
Tesla options traders are more bullish than Musk and see stock up 400%Tesla stock options traders are even more bullish than Elon Musk, betting shares will soar nearly 400%
Read more »
Investors piling into European stocks as recession fears easeInvestors are piling the most cash into European stocks in nearly as year as recession outlook fades
Read more »