Skip to main content
Kent Academic Repository

Trust in scientists and their role in society across 68 countries

Cologna, Viktoria, Mede, Niels G, Berger, Sebastian, Besley, John, Brick, Cameron, Joubert, Marina, Maibach, Edward W, Mihelj, Sabina, Oreskes, Naomi, Schäfer, Mike S, and others. (2025) Trust in scientists and their role in society across 68 countries. Nature Human Behaviour, . E-ISSN 2397-3374. (doi:10.1038/s41562-024-02090-5) (KAR id:108610)

Abstract

Science is crucial for evidence-based decision-making. Public trust in scientists can help decision makers act on the basis of the best available evidence, especially during crises. However, in recent years the epistemic authority of science has been challenged, causing concerns about low public trust in scientists. We interrogated these concerns with a preregistered 68-country survey of 71,922 respondents and found that in most countries, most people trust scientists and agree that scientists should engage more in society and policymaking. We found variations between and within countries, which we explain with individual- and country-level variables, including political orientation. While there is no widespread lack of trust in scientists, we cannot discount the concern that lack of trust in scientists by even a small minority may affect considerations of scientific evidence in policymaking. These findings have implications for scientists and policymakers seeking to maintain and increase trust in scientists.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1038/s41562-024-02090-5
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion
B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Institutional Unit: Schools > School of Psychology > Psychology
Former Institutional Unit:
Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Psychology
Funders: Swiss National Science Foundation (https://ror.org/00yjd3n13)
Economic and Social Research Council (https://ror.org/03n0ht308)
John Templeton Foundation (https://ror.org/035tnyy05)
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (https://ror.org/018mejw64)
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (https://ror.org/0456r8d26)
FWF Austrian Science Fund (https://ror.org/013tf3c58)
European Commission (https://ror.org/00k4n6c32)
SWORD Depositor: JISC Publications Router
Depositing User: JISC Publications Router
Date Deposited: 21 Feb 2025 11:05 UTC
Last Modified: 20 May 2025 13:26 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/108610 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Douglas, Karen M..

Creator's ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0381-6924
CReDIT Contributor Roles:

Toribio-Flórez, Daniel.

Creator's ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9706-709X
CReDIT Contributor Roles:
  • Depositors only (login required):

Total unique views of this page since July 2020. For more details click on the image.