Survey finds public perception of scientists' credibility has slipped
New analyses from the Annenberg Public Policy Center find that public perceptions of scientists' credibility—measured as their competence, trustworthiness, and the extent to which they are perceived to share an individual's ...
From 2018-2022, the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania relied on national cross-sectional surveys to monitor perceptions of science and scientists. In 2023-24, APPC moved to a nationally representative empaneled sample to make it possible to observe changes in individual perceptions.
The February 2024 findings, released today to coincide with the address by National Academy of Sciences President Marcia McNutt on "The State of the Science," come from an analysis of responses from an empaneled national probability sample of U.S. adults surveyed in February 2023 (n=1,638 respondents), November 2023 (n=1,538), and February 2024 (n=1,555).
Drawing on the 2022 cross-sectional data, in an article titled "Factors Assessing Science's Self-Presentation model and their effect on conservatives' and liberals' support for funding science," published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (September 2023), Annenberg-affiliated researchers Yotam Ophir (State University of New York at Buffalo and an APPC distinguished research fellow), Dror Walter (Georgia State University and an APPC distinguished research fellow), and Patrick E. Jamieson and Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center isolated factors that underlie perceptions of scientists (Factors Assessing Science's Self-Presentation, or FASS). These factors predict public support for increased funding of science and support for federal funding of basic research.
Of the three dimensions that make up scientists' credibility, two of them—perceptions of competence and trustworthiness—saw a small but statistically significant drop from 2023 to 2024. The third dimension, that scientists "share my values," did not change significantly. From Annenberg Public Policy Center surveys. Credit: Annenberg Public Policy Center
Most U.S. adults believe that scientific findings are beneficial, but fewer people felt that way in 2024. In 2024, fewer U.S. adults believed scientists' findings were beneficial to them individually or to the country as a whole, as compared with survey data from the prior year. From Annenberg Public Policy Center surveys. Credit: Annenberg Public Policy Center
The Annenberg survey finds that 42% of those surveyed agree that scientists "are able to overcome human and political biases," but just 21% agree with that for scientists who study artificial intelligence (AI). From the Annenberg Public Policy Center. Credit: Annenberg Public Policy Center