Science – Public Confidence

Perceptions of Science in America – a report from the Public Face of Science initiative
American Academy of Arts & Sciences
2018 :: 44 pages ISBN: 0-87724-120-1
Overview
The essential role of the natural and social sciences in everyday life raises a number of questions about how Americans view science, scientists, and the impacts of scientific research. Decades of public opinion surveys provide a useful window into our general attitudes about science, such as confidence in the scientific community and support for science funding, and our views on more specific questions, such as the level of trust in scientists to contribute impartially to public debate. The available data paint a picture of a heterogeneous public whose perceptions are dependent on context and values.

The goal of this report is to increase awareness of these nuances among science communicators, advocates, and researchers so they can better understand their audiences when developing outreach programs, messaging strategies, and educational materials. By identifying gaps in the current understanding, this report underscores the need for additional studies on the influences on attitudes toward science, as well as how those attitudes impact both personal decisions and public support for evidence-based policy. For additional data pertaining to these issues, the reader is encouraged to consult the publications in which the research originally appeared.

This report is the first in a series of publications from the Academy’s Public Face of Science Initiative, a three-year endeavor to learn more about the complex and evolving relationship between scientists and the public. Subsequent reports will highlight the numerous ways that individuals encounter science in their everyday lives and present recommendations for improving the practice of science communication and engagement.

TOP THREE TAKEAWAYS
from Perceptions of Science in America
1] Confidence in scientific leaders has remained relatively stable over the last thirty years. (SECTION 1: GENERAL PERCEPTIONS OF SCIENCE)
:: Americans express strong support for public investment in research.
:: A majority of Americans views scientific research as beneficial.
:: Americans support an active role for science and scientists in public life.
:: Americans have varying interpretations of the word “science” and the scientific process; additional research is necessary to understand how these differing inter¬pretations influence perceptions of—and support for—science.

2] Confidence in science varies based on age, race, educational attainment, region, political ideology, and other characteristics. (SECTION 2: DEMOGRAPHIC INFLUENCES ON GENERAL VIEWS OF SCIENCE)
:: Although attitudes toward science are generally positive, the degree of confidence in science varies among demographic groups.
:: For example, U.S. adults without a high-school diploma are less likely than those with a college degree to view science as beneficial.

3] There is no single anti-science population, but more research is needed to understand what drives skepticism about specific science issues. (SECTION 3: CASE STUDIES OF PERCEPTIONS ON SPECIFIC SCIENCE TOPICS)
:: Attitudes toward science are not uniformly associated with one particular demo¬graphic group but instead vary based on the specific science issue.
:: Recent research suggests that underlying factors, such as group identity, can strongly influence perceptions about science.
:: A person’s knowledge of science facts and research is not necessarily predictive of acceptance of the scientific consensus on a particular question. Indeed, for certain subgroups and for certain topics such as climate change, higher levels of science knowledge may even be associated with more-polarized views.
:: More research is needed to determine how cultural experience and group identities shape trust in scientific research, and how to address skepticism of well-established scientific findings.
:: Future studies should include an expanded definition of science literacy that incor¬porates the understanding of the scientific process and the capacity to evaluate conflicting scientific.

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Press Release
New Report from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Examines Americans’ Trust in Science
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 12, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Amid increasing concern over the extent to which the public values scientific evidence, a new report from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences offers an in-depth examination of the current state of trust in science among Americans.

“Perceptions of Science in America” is the first of a series of reports that will be issued by the Public Face of Science, a project of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The Public Face of Science is a three-year initiative to understand and address various aspects of the evolving relationship between the public and scientists…

“Sustaining public trust in science will require gaining a better understanding of how confidence and skepticism develop in the first place,” said Jonathan F. Fanton, President of the American Academy. “By calling attention to this question, the Public Face of Science project seeks to improve how science is communicated in an increasingly complex information landscape.” A key finding of “Perceptions of Science in America” is that scientists continue to enjoy significant public trust, especially when measured against other professions. Yet the report also identifies potential vulnerabilities. For example, surveys demonstrate that perceptions of science can vary based on age, education, gender, political party, race, and region…

“Overall, it is clear that Americans continue to recognize and value the significant benefits that scientific research brings to society,” said Richard Meserve, another co-chair of the American Academy project and President Emeritus of the Carnegie Institution for Science. “Where fractures have appeared, it is often due to misrepresentations of the scientific consensus. It is imperative that we understand how to counter such misinformation and restore trust in the evidence without making the problem worse…

The Public Face of Science project is supported in part by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Rita Allen Foundation, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.