Absolutely fascinating survey from Pew Research on public trust in science came out today. If you are wanting to reach across the aisle and help restore trust in science, the very first step is knowing your audience. Here's what they found. www.pewresearch.org/science/2024... - ThreadSky

kmpanthagani.bsky.social • 104 days ago

Absolutely fascinating survey from Pew Research on public trust in science came out today.

If you are wanting to reach across the aisle and help restore trust in science, the very first step is knowing your audience.

Here's what they found.

https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2024/11/14/public-trust-in-scientists-and-views-on-their-role-in-policymaking/

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marinebiologale.bsky.social•80 days ago

📌

doxy-cycling.bsky.social•103 days ago

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kmpanthagani.bsky.social•104 days ago

1. Confidence in scientists is making a comeback, but is not back to pre-pandemic levels. 76% of Americans say they have confidence in medical scientists acting in the best interest of the public.

kmpanthagani.bsky.social•104 days ago

2. We need to do a better job communicating. While the vast majority of Americans view scientists as intelligent, less than half say they're good at communicating. Personally, I would agree with this.

hollyphantpants.bsky.social•96 days ago

Scientists can't easily dial-down the vocabulary level of their speech, so people hearing them don't understand what they are saying. Some people feel insulted by that, like they are being condescended to. They feel inferior and they project that onto the speaker.

kmpanthagani.bsky.social•104 days ago

3. The public is split on the role of scientists in policy-making. Some want scientists to stick just to the facts, and others think scientists should play a role in forming policies.

kmpanthagani.bsky.social•104 days ago

Personally, I think both are important, but when scientists go beyond "just the facts" and start layering their values on top of those facts when advocating for policy decisions, it's important to be clear where the facts end and opinions begin. Wrote about that here:

https://shorturl.at/ma767

kmpanthagani.bsky.social•104 days ago

4. Not surprisingly, trust in science is lower among Republicans compared to Democrats. This highlights the need for outreach efforts that reach across the political aisle.

kmpanthagani.bsky.social•104 days ago

5. Both Democrats and Republicans people think scientists are intelligent. But the perception of scientists is split by political party, with Republicans more likely to think of scientists as feeling superior to others, "cold", and poor communicators.

impreach.bsky.social•104 days ago

Thank you! Great info.

emiliafavuzzi.bsky.social•80 days ago

📌

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