Page 28 - Standard Indicators for the social appropriation of science
P. 28
Trust
Figure 3. Self-assessment of trust levels 24
Trust is affected by various factors such as Climate change is also the topic in which one
gender, culture, political ideology and even can observe very low levels of mistrust and
how science information reaches us, along these are maintained after the science camps.
with one’s own level of knowledge regarding The same is not observed with vaccines and
a topic. Usually, the highest levels of trust are CAM that present slightly alarming values, but
based on facts that cannot be refuted. 27 which decrease after the activity. In genetically
modified organisms there is a negative
Initially it can be noted that participants are reinforcement, i.e., participants started to
very trustful of what the scientific community distrust science more.
predicts regarding both climate change
and vaccines, while levels of uncertainty It is believed that these levels of trust reflect
and disagreement are highest regarding the levels of knowledge and information that
alternative medicines and GMOs. After the the students show before and after the science
science camp activities, it is assessed that camps, since climate change levels are high
the levels of trust regarding vaccines slightly and tend to intensify, while at the beginning
exceed those regarding climate change. Thus, the other topics show average levels of
the levels of climate change, although they knowledge and the unawareness decreases
were strengthened, did not do so significantly, dramatically. The increased level of knowledge
because they were quite high already. It is and information causes students to become
also important to point out that students’ trust more critical about science information. This
levels have increased in all topics except for relationship may explain the rise of distrust in
complementary and alternative medicines. science regarding GMOs and CAM statements
because there is not as much research and
Students showed low levels of uncertainty in all information as there is for climate change and
topics except when it comes to GMOs, where vaccines in the countries where the science
almost half of the participants place themselves camps took place. The students’ poor or
as being unsure about the statements. These insufficient knowledge about CAM and GMOs
doubts decrease after the contact with is mirrored in their levels of trust in scientists.
specialists in general, apart from CAM.
27. Scarfuto, J. (2020, Feb, 16), Do you trust science? These five factors play a big role. Retrieved from Do you trust
science? These five factors play a big role | Science | AAAS)
28
Persist_EU
