Âé¶¹ÒùÔº

January 20, 2025

Global study finds strong public trust in scientists

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain
× close
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

A new international study on public trust in science, conducted across 68 countries, has found that most people trust scientists and believe they should be more involved in society and policymaking. Further, a majority of survey participants believe that scientists should be more involved in society and policymaking.

Published in Nature Human Behaviour, this research was conducted by TISP, a Harvard University-based consortium led by Dr. Viktoria Cologna (Harvard University, RTH Zurich) and Dr. Niels G Mede (University of Zurich), which includes 241 researchers from 169 institutions worldwide, including the University of Bath.

The study, which includes 71,922 respondents—2,008 of them from the UK—provides the largest global dataset on trust in scientists since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Key findings

Global rankings

Dr. Eleonora Alabrese, an economist from the University of Bath, collected responses for part of the UK sample. She said, "The UK has a generally high level of trust in science, ranking above many European countries, including Denmark, Germany, Sweden, and Belgium. Trust in scientists is higher among women, older individuals, and those with more education.

"Interestingly, a conservative political orientation is linked to lower trust in science in North America and parts of Europe. However, this pattern does not hold globally, suggesting that the political leadership may influence such attitudes in different regions."

Lead researcher, Dr. Viktoria Cologna from Harvard University and ETH Zurich said, "Our results show that most people in most countries have relatively high trust in scientists and want them to play an active role in society and policymaking."

Second study lead, Dr. Niels G Mede from University of Zurich said, "The study is the most comprehensive post-pandemic snapshot of trust in scientists, societal expectations of their involvement in society and policymaking, and public views on research priorities."

Get free science updates with Science X Daily and Weekly Newsletters — to customize your preferences!

Challenges

The findings also highlight some areas of concern. Globally, less than half of respondents (42%) believe that scientists pay attention to others' views. The findings also show that many people, in many countries, feel that the priorities of science do not always align well with their own priorities. Participants assigned high priority to research dedicated to improving public health, solving energy problems, and reducing poverty.

Research on developing defense and military technology was assigned a lower priority. In fact, participants explicitly believe that science prioritizes developing defense and more than they desire.

Recommendations

The consortium of academics recommends that scientists take these results seriously and find ways to be more receptive to feedback and open to dialogue with the public, consider ways in Western countries to reach conservative groups, and, in the fullness of time, consider their role in setting priorities aligned with public values.

Dr. Eleonora Alabrese said, "While trust in science remains generally high, even a small decline in trust from a minority could influence how scientific evidence is used in policymaking. These findings are crucial for scientists and policymakers working to maintain in ."

More information: Trust in scientists and their role in society across 68 countries, Nature Human Behaviour (2025).

Journal information: Nature Human Behaviour

Provided by University of Bath

Load comments (0)

This article has been reviewed according to Science X's and . have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

fact-checked
peer-reviewed publication
trusted source
proofread

Get Instant Summarized Text (GIST)

An international survey across 68 countries reveals strong public trust in scientists, with a mean trust level of 3.62 out of 5. Most respondents believe scientists are qualified, honest, and concerned about public well-being, and 83% support scientists communicating with the public. However, only 42% feel scientists consider others' views, and there is a perceived misalignment between scientific priorities and public values. The study suggests scientists should engage more with the public and consider diverse perspectives in policymaking.

This summary was automatically generated using LLM.