TY - JOUR
T1 - Trust in scientists and their role in society across 68 countries
AU - TISP author collaboration
AU - Cologna, Viktoria
AU - Mede, Niels G.
AU - Berger, Sebastian
AU - Besley, John
AU - Brick, Cameron
AU - Joubert, Marina
AU - Maibach, Edward W.
AU - Mihelj, Sabina
AU - Oreskes, Naomi
AU - Schäfer, Mike S.
AU - van der Linden, Sander
AU - Abdul Aziz, Nor Izzatina
AU - Abdulsalam, Suleiman
AU - Shamsi, Nurulaini Abu
AU - Aczel, Balazs
AU - Adinugroho, Indro
AU - Alabrese, Eleonora
AU - Aldoh, Alaa
AU - Alfano, Mark
AU - Ali, Innocent Mbulli
AU - Alsobay, Mohammed
AU - Altenmüller, Marlene
AU - Alvarez, R. Michael
AU - Amoako, Richard
AU - Amollo, Tabitha
AU - Ansah, Patrick
AU - Apriliawati, Denisa
AU - Azevedo, Flavio
AU - Bajrami, Ani
AU - Bardhan, Ronita
AU - Bati, Keagile
AU - Bertsou, Eri
AU - Betsch, Cornelia
AU - Bhatiya, Apurav Yash
AU - Bhui, Rahul
AU - Białobrzeska, Olga
AU - Bilewicz, Michał
AU - Bouguettaya, Ayoub
AU - Breeden, Katherine
AU - Bret, Amélie
AU - Buchel, Ondrej
AU - Cabrera-Álvarez, Pablo
AU - Cagnoli, Federica
AU - Calero Valdez, André
AU - Callaghan, Timothy
AU - Cases, Rizza Kaye
AU - Çoksan, Sami
AU - Czarnek, Gabriela
AU - De Peuter, Steven
AU - Kojan, Lilian
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2025.
PY - 2025/4
Y1 - 2025/4
N2 - Science is crucial for evidence-based decision-making. Public trust in scientists can help decision makers act on the basis of the best available evidence, especially during crises. However, in recent years the epistemic authority of science has been challenged, causing concerns about low public trust in scientists. We interrogated these concerns with a preregistered 68-country survey of 71,922 respondents and found that in most countries, most people trust scientists and agree that scientists should engage more in society and policymaking. We found variations between and within countries, which we explain with individual- and country-level variables, including political orientation. While there is no widespread lack of trust in scientists, we cannot discount the concern that lack of trust in scientists by even a small minority may affect considerations of scientific evidence in policymaking. These findings have implications for scientists and policymakers seeking to maintain and increase trust in scientists.
AB - Science is crucial for evidence-based decision-making. Public trust in scientists can help decision makers act on the basis of the best available evidence, especially during crises. However, in recent years the epistemic authority of science has been challenged, causing concerns about low public trust in scientists. We interrogated these concerns with a preregistered 68-country survey of 71,922 respondents and found that in most countries, most people trust scientists and agree that scientists should engage more in society and policymaking. We found variations between and within countries, which we explain with individual- and country-level variables, including political orientation. While there is no widespread lack of trust in scientists, we cannot discount the concern that lack of trust in scientists by even a small minority may affect considerations of scientific evidence in policymaking. These findings have implications for scientists and policymakers seeking to maintain and increase trust in scientists.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85215413416
UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/597561c5-a3cb-305a-a2c2-bf4ff53ed22c/
U2 - 10.1038/s41562-024-02090-5
DO - 10.1038/s41562-024-02090-5
M3 - Journal articles
C2 - 39833424
AN - SCOPUS:85215413416
SN - 2397-3374
VL - 9
SP - 713
EP - 730
JO - Nature Human Behaviour
JF - Nature Human Behaviour
IS - 4
M1 - e2108576118
ER -