How much do we trust scientists? Researchers investigate in international study

Most people put trust in scientists and agree that scientists should have a significant impact on the life of society and policymaking, according to a study conducted in 68 countries by an international group of researchers, including scientists from SWPS University.

Public trust in scientists brings many benefits to society. It helps decision makers act on the basis of verified information, it is the basis for shaping evidence-based policies, and promotes spending government funds on research.

Trust in science can support decision-makers in their work, especially during global crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic or climate change. Societies with high public trust in science and scientists dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic more effectively, as citizens were more likely to comply with non-pharmaceutical COVID-19 interventions and had higher vaccine confidence^[1]. People with high trust in scientists are also more likely to engage in action on climate change^[2].

Studies to date have shown that most people trust science^[3], and scientists are among the most trusted actors in society. Despite this, in recent years there has been talk of a crisis of trust in scientists, which is why an international group of researchers decided to check how public opinion actually perceived scientific achievements.

Trust level is high

The researchers surveyed nearly 72,000 respondents representative of each of the 68 countries covered by the study. They asked the respondents to what extent scientists should be involved in policymaking and society. They also inquired about the issues the respondents  wanted scientists to prioritise, and whether they believed that scientists actually addressed these priorities.

The study, described in the paper "Trust in scientists and their role in society across 68 countries” in Nature Human Behaviour, was conducted using a trust index measuring four established dimensions of trustworthiness. The average score across all countries is fairly high: 3.62 on a five-point scale (1 - very low level, 5 - very high level). No country showed low overall trust in scientists.

75 percent people agree that scientific research methods are the best way to find out whether an assumption is true or false. Importantly, the level of trust in scientific methods is correlated with trust in scientists. The perception of scientists' openness to feedback is lower (3.33 average), but 42% of respondents still believe that scientists pay attention to the opinions of others to some or a large extent.

The replication crisis in science has not shaken people's trust in the agency of scientists. All over the world, people perceive scientists as highly competent (4.02 average on a scale of 1-5), and the vast majority of respondents believe that scientists are appropriately qualified to conduct research that is key to solving social challenges (e.g. those related to combating poverty, health care or energy crises). Most respondents perceive scientists as honest and concerned about human well-being, emphasises one of the authors of the study, psychologist Michał Parzuchowski, PhD, a professor at SWPS University and head of the Center of Research on Cognition and Behavior at the SWPS University Faculty of Psychology in Sopot. The study co-authors also included Olga Białobrzeska, PhD, a psychologist from the SWPS University Faculty of Psychology in Warsaw.

Scientists are most trusted in Egypt, least trusted in Albania

While the level of trust in science is generally high, there are notable variations across individual countries. Unlike in other studies, however, no clear indications were found that scientists were less trusted in Latin American and African countries. However, there were patterns within specific regions. For example, Russia as well as several former Soviet republics and satellite states show relatively low trust in scientists. The results of the analyses for individual countries can be compared in detail with the interactive application available at www.tisp-manylabs.com.

The highest level of trust in science was observed in Egypt (4.30), followed by India (4.26). The top five also included Nigeria (3.98), Kenya (3.95) and Australia (3.91). The top ten was completed by Bangladesh, Spain, Turkey, New Zealand and Argentina. Poland was in the second half of the list with an moderately high score of 3.51. The lowest places belong to Ethiopia (3.23), Russia (3.23), Bolivia (3.22), Kazakhstan (3.13), and Albania is the last with a score of 3.05.

It turns out that higher levels of trust exist in certain demographic groups: women, older people, more educated people. The majority of survey participants believe that scientists should focus on public health and energy research, and the least desired research goal is developing defence and military technologies.

Even the opinions of small groups should not be underestimated, as their distrust can influence policy-making and individual choices. Future research will look for the sources and consequences of such anti-scientific attitudes among people who declare extreme distrust of science and research results, Michał Parzuchowski concludes.

^[1]  Sturgis, P., Brunton-Smith, I. & Jackson, J. Trust in science, social consensus and vaccine confidence. Nat. Hum. Behav. 5, 1528– 1534 (2021).

^[2] Cologna, V. & Siegrist, M. The role of trust for climate change mitigation and adaptation behaviour: a meta-analysis. J. Environ. Psychol. 69, 101428 (2020).

^[3]IPSOS Global Trustworthiness Monitor: Stability in an Unstable World (IPSOS, 2022).