University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Public Underst Sci. 2024 Oct;33(7):855-871. doi: 10.1177/09636625241232097. Epub 2024 Mar 8.
Research on scientist perceptions tends to focus on either stereotypes (white, male) or social evaluations (competent but cold), sometimes yielding incongruent conclusions (e.g. scientists are simultaneously seen as moral and immoral). Across two preregistered correlational studies ( = 1091), we address this issue by simultaneously assessing stereotypes and social evaluations and their association with two key outcomes: trust in scientists and science career appeal. We find that stereotypes and social evaluations are distinct types of perceptions-they correlate slightly, stem from different worldviews, and predict partially different outcomes. While western enculturation and religiosity predict stereotypes, right-wing political ideology negatively relates to social evaluations. Stereotypes are associated with lower science career appeal among stereotype-incongruent individuals, while social evaluations predict more trust in scientists and higher science career appeal. This work thus sheds light on the psychological pathways to trust in scientists, as well as on the perceived appeal of becoming a scientist.
科学家感知的研究往往集中在刻板印象（白人，男性）或社会评价（有能力但冷漠）上，有时会得出不一致的结论（例如，科学家同时被视为道德和不道德的）。在两项预先注册的相关研究中（n=1091），我们通过同时评估刻板印象和社会评价及其与两个关键结果的关系来解决这个问题：对科学家的信任和对科学职业的吸引力。我们发现刻板印象和社会评价是不同类型的感知——它们略有相关，源于不同的世界观，并预测出部分不同的结果。虽然西方文化和宗教信仰预测刻板印象，但右翼政治意识形态与社会评价呈负相关。在与刻板印象不一致的个体中，刻板印象与较低的科学职业吸引力相关，而社会评价则预示着对科学家的更高信任和更高的科学职业吸引力。因此，这项工作揭示了信任科学家的心理途径，以及成为科学家的感知吸引力。
