Aspen Institute Science & Society Program reposted this
Research on public views about science & scientists' views about the public to help scientists communicate strategically
Our new, invited article below argues that science communication researchers and practitioners could benefit from more nuance in how we talk about trust. The core argument is that we could have more useful conversations about trust if we consistently distinguished between trust behaviors (e.g., considering scientists' advice) and the trustworthiness beliefs that research says makes such behavioral trust more likely. As we review in the piece, past research strongly suggests that people trust scientists when they believe scientists are high in ability (expertise), benevolence (goodwill), integrity, and openness). The labels don't matter--we call it trust, but you could say 'credibility' or 'reputation'--what matters is: (1) clarity around the behaviors scientists are asking people to consider, and (2) finding ways to give scientists opportunities to demonstrate that they have relevant expertise, care about others well-being, have high integrity, and are eager to listen and share. The article also highlights how little we know about how to demonstrate specific types of trustworthiness and calls for more research. https://lnkd.in/er8x6Dmz