van Antwerpen Natasha, Green Estelle B, Sturman Daniel, Searston Rachel A
School of Psychology, The University of Adelaide, North Terrace, Adelaide, SA, 5005, Australia.
Sci Rep. 2025 Apr 7;15(1):11869. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-96333-8.
Media portrayals of scientific disagreements can blur distinctions between experts and non-experts, or include disagreements from vested individuals, potentially undermining trust in science and belief in scientific claims. We investigated how disagreeing sources' expertise and conflicting interests impact trust in scientific experts and belief in their claims, and whether scientific literacy moderates these effects. Across three, 2 × 2 factorial experiments with a student (N = 105) online (N = 110), and general Australian sample (N = 105), participants read articles describing a scientific claim followed by a disagreeing source whose subject-matter expertise (present/absent) and vested interest (present/absent) were manipulated. Participants in all samples judged the original scientific expert as more trustworthy and their claims more believable when the disagreeing source lacked relevant subject-matter expertise. Among student participants, conflicts of interest also impacted belief in scientific claims (but not trust in the scientist), and scientific literacy enhanced sensitivity to expertise and conflict, however, the other samples were largely insensitive to vested interests, and scientific literacy had varied effects in these samples. Our results show disagreement in the news, even from questionable sources, can sway evaluations of scientific claims and scientists, and highlight the value of literacy-based interventions in science communication.
媒体对科学分歧的描绘可能会模糊专家与非专家之间的区别，或者纳入既得利益者的分歧，这可能会削弱对科学的信任以及对科学论断的信念。我们研究了存在分歧的信息源的专业知识和利益冲突如何影响对科学专家的信任及其论断的可信度，以及科学素养是否会调节这些影响。在针对学生（N = 105）、在线样本（N = 110）和澳大利亚普通样本（N = 105）开展的三项2×2析因实验中，参与者阅读描述某一科学论断的文章，随后是一个存在分歧的信息源，其专业知识（具备/不具备）和既得利益（存在/不存在）是经过操控的。当存在分歧的信息源缺乏相关专业知识时，所有样本中的参与者都认为最初的科学专家更值得信赖，其论断也更可信。在学生参与者中，利益冲突也会影响对科学论断的信念（但不影响对科学家的信任），并且科学素养增强了对专业知识和利益冲突的敏感度。然而，其他样本在很大程度上对既得利益不敏感，并且科学素养在这些样本中产生了不同的影响。我们的研究结果表明，新闻中的分歧，即使来自可疑的信息源，也会影响对科学论断和科学家的评价，并凸显了基于素养的科学传播干预措施的价值。
