Testing the cultural-invariance hypothesis: A global analysis of the relationship between scientific knowledge and attitudes to science

Patrick Sturgis; Ian Brunton-Smith; Nick Allum; Simon Fuglsang

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0296860

Testing the cultural-invariance hypothesis: A global analysis of the relationship between scientific knowledge and attitudes to science

Patrick Sturgis^*, Ian Brunton-Smith, Nick Allum, Simon Fuglsang

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Political Science - Danish Centre for Studies in Research and Research Policy

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

A substantial body of research has demonstrated that science knowledge is correlated with attitudes towards science, with most studies finding a positive relationship between the two constructs; people who are more knowledgeable about science tend to be more positive about it. However, this evidence base has been almost exclusively confined to high and middle-income democracies, with poorer and less developed nations excluded from consideration. In this study, we conduct the first global investigation of the science knowledge-attitude relationship, using the 2018 Wellcome Global Monitor survey. Our results show a positive knowledge-attitude correlation in all but one of the 144 countries investigated. This robust cross-national relationship is consistent across both science literacy and self-assessed measures of science knowledge.

Original language	English
Article number	e0296860
Journal	P L o S One
Volume	19
Issue	2
ISSN	1932-6203
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0296860
Publication status	Published - Feb 2024

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Testing the cultural-invariance hypothesis: A global analysis of the relationship between scientific knowledge and attitudes to science. / Sturgis, Patrick; Brunton-Smith, Ian; Allum, Nick et al.
In: P L o S One, Vol. 19, No. 2, e0296860, 02.2024.

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review

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Testing the cultural-invariance hypothesis: A global analysis of the relationship between scientific knowledge and attitudes to science

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