Page 17 - Standard Indicators for the social appropriation of science

Questions on GMOs Questions on vaccines
Despite the production of GMOs and their
commercialisation in Europe became
authorised, as of 17 October 2002, by Directive
2001/18/EC of the European Parliament and
the Council, citizens knowledge still remains
low. 19
The self-reported knowledge question is
similar to that used in other questionnaires. It
is usually assumed that the level of knowledge
in biology is related to the attitudes towards
GMOs. However, several studies have shown
that GMOs is a topic where there exist polarised
opinions regardless of the level of knowledge.
In this sense, the question about perception
allows us to measure if students present more
or less positive views towards GMOs and check
if the direct relationship with the knowledge is
actually not present.
In 2018, the World Resources Institute
published a report showing that GMOs can
be a solution to prevent the global population
(that is expected to reach 10 billion people in
2050) from starving. The beliefs question was
20
formulated to assess the level of scepticism of
students towards this scientific claim.
GMOs risk perception on human health and
the environment is one of the key factors
that defines the attitudes towards GMOs.
21
Meanwhile the precautionary principle is still
used by people with more negative attitudes,
scientists claim research on GMOs has been
extensively during decades and that they have
more pros and cons. The level of agreement
with the statement “the benefits of scientific and
technological research on GMO are greater
than the risks” can be an indicator of the trust
in scientific claims.
19. Questions and Answers on the Regulation of GMOs in the EU – Memo/02/160 – rev., March 2003
20. World Resources Institute (2018), Creating a Sustainable Food Future
21. Bawa, A. S., Anilakumar, K. R. Genetically modified foods: safety, risks and public concerns—a review, J. Food
Sci. Technol., 50(6): 1035–1046.
22. See Eurobaromete on vaccines 2019
Considering vaccines, the knowledge
question had the main objective to study the
level of understanding of news concerning
a very complex topic. Vaccines, in fact, are
a multi-faceted topic and normally this type
of issue must be addressed by primarily
verifying cognitive attitudes. This question
was asked following the order in which the
recent Eurobarometer survey of 2019 was also
carried out. 22
The issue of vaccines is quite controversial,
and groups opposed to their use have often
been activated. For this reason, a question
was chosen that tends to detect a possible
polarisation towards vaccines, in order to verify
the level of contrast that could exist among
students.
The question of beliefs aims to probe in depth
some values that guide personal choices. For
this reason, a situation was chosen in which
to verify an attitude towards the common good
such as that of immunity guaranteed to the
population through the responsibility to get
vaccinated. This type of question therefore
makes it possible to precisely verify the position
with respect to a universal value such as public
health.
The question of trust allows us to study to
what extent students rely on science trust.
While considering the inevitable uncertainty of
science, it is important to note whether scientific
institutions and scientists are believed to be
credible and reliable, particularly for assessing
possible adverse effects. The issue of side
effects, in fact, has often been at the centre of
public debate and represents a crucial element
to gauge the level of public confidence.
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