TY - JOUR
T1 - What if some people just do not like science? How personality traits relate to attitudes toward science and technology
AU - Fuglsang, Simon
PY - 2024/7
Y1 - 2024/7
N2 - As societal discussion on the public opinion of science and technology ignites over and over again, understanding where such opinions are rooted is increasingly relevant. A handful of prior studies have suggested personality traits as a root of science and technology attitudes. However, these report mixed findings, and employ small student or convenience samples. This leaves considerable uncertainty regarding personality traits’ relation to attitudes toward science and technology. If in fact stable psychological predispositions play a role, this has considerable implications for science policy and science communication. This article investigates the relationship between the big five personality traits and science attitudes in Germany and the Netherlands. Findings indicate that personality traits are related to science attitudes but only very weakly so, among them openness to experience and negative emotionality are most notably related to science attitudes, whereas extraversion, in contrast to prior studies, shows no relation to science and technology attitudes.
AB - As societal discussion on the public opinion of science and technology ignites over and over again, understanding where such opinions are rooted is increasingly relevant. A handful of prior studies have suggested personality traits as a root of science and technology attitudes. However, these report mixed findings, and employ small student or convenience samples. This leaves considerable uncertainty regarding personality traits’ relation to attitudes toward science and technology. If in fact stable psychological predispositions play a role, this has considerable implications for science policy and science communication. This article investigates the relationship between the big five personality traits and science attitudes in Germany and the Netherlands. Findings indicate that personality traits are related to science attitudes but only very weakly so, among them openness to experience and negative emotionality are most notably related to science attitudes, whereas extraversion, in contrast to prior studies, shows no relation to science and technology attitudes.
KW - public understanding of science
KW - science attitudes and perceptions
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85182628809&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/09636625231220341
DO - 10.1177/09636625231220341
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 38243812
SN - 0963-6625
VL - 33
SP - 623
EP - 633
JO - Public Understanding of Science
JF - Public Understanding of Science
IS - 5
ER -