Kuang Yan
School of Journalism and New Media, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
Front Public Health. 2025 Jan 15;12:1491096. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1491096. eCollection 2024.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, science communication played a crucial role in disseminating accurate information and promoting scientific literacy among the public. However, the rise of anti-intellectualism on social media platforms has posed significant challenges to science, scientists, and science communication, hindering effective public engagement with scientific affairs. This study aims to explore the mechanisms through which anti-intellectualism impacts science communication on social media platforms from the perspective of communication effect theory.
This study employed a cross-sectional research design to conduct an online questionnaire survey of Chinese social media users from August to September 2021. The survey results were analyzed via descriptive statistics, -tests, one-way ANOVA, and a chain mediation model with SPSS 26.0.
There were significant differences in anti-intellectualism tendency among groups of different demographic characteristics. The majority of respondents placed greater emphasis on knowledge that has practical benefits in life. Respondents' trust in different groups of intellectuals showed significant inconsistencies, with economists and experts receiving the lowest levels of trust. Anti-intellectualism significantly and positively predicted the level of misconception of scientific and technological information, while significantly and negatively predicting individuals' attitudes toward science communication. It further influenced respondents' behavior in disseminating scientific and technological information through the chain mediation of scientific misconception and attitudes toward science communication.
This research enriches the conceptual framework of anti-intellectualism across various cultural contexts, as well as the theoretical framework concerning the interaction between anti-intellectualism and science communication. The findings provide suggestions for developing strategies to enhance the effectiveness of science communication and risk communication during public emergencies.
在新冠疫情期间，科学传播在传播准确信息和提高公众科学素养方面发挥了关键作用。然而，社交媒体平台上反智主义的兴起给科学、科学家和科学传播带来了重大挑战，阻碍了公众对科学事务的有效参与。本研究旨在从传播效果理论的角度探讨反智主义影响社交媒体平台上科学传播的机制。
本研究采用横断面研究设计，于2021年8月至9月对中国社交媒体用户进行了在线问卷调查。使用SPSS 26.0对调查结果进行描述性统计、t检验、单因素方差分析和链式中介模型分析。
不同人口统计学特征群体的反智主义倾向存在显著差异。大多数受访者更强调生活中有实际益处的知识。受访者对不同知识分子群体的信任存在显著不一致，经济学家和专家得到的信任度最低。反智主义显著正向预测对科技信息的误解程度，同时显著负向预测个人对科学传播的态度。它通过科学误解和对科学传播的态度的链式中介进一步影响受访者传播科技信息的行为。
本研究丰富了跨文化背景下反智主义的概念框架，以及反智主义与科学传播相互作用的理论框架。研究结果为制定在突发公共事件期间提高科学传播和风险传播效果的策略提供了建议。
