Public perception of scientists: Experimental evidence on the role of sociodemographic, partisan, and professional characteristics.

Previous research shows that public trust in scientists is often bound up with the messages that they convey and the context in which they communicate. However, in the current study, we examine how the public perceives scientists based on the characteristics of scientists themselves, irrespective of...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Burak Sonmez, Kirils Makarovs, Nick Allum
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2023-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0287572&type=printable
Description
Summary:Previous research shows that public trust in scientists is often bound up with the messages that they convey and the context in which they communicate. However, in the current study, we examine how the public perceives scientists based on the characteristics of scientists themselves, irrespective of their scientific message and its context. Using a quota sample of U.S. adults, we investigate how scientists' sociodemographic; partisan; and professional characteristics affect preferences and trust towards them as a scientific adviser to local government. We find that scientists' party identification and professional characteristics appear to be prominent to understand public preferences towards them.
ISSN:1932-6203