Joachim Retzbach

Effects of Repeated Exposure to Science TV Shows on Beliefs About Scientific Evidence and Interest in Science

For scientific laypersons, it is becoming increasingly important to understand the concept of scientific evidence. Prior research shows that the media tend to underrepresent the tentativeness and uncertainty of research findings. Yet presently it remains unclear whether beliefs about the certainty or uncertainty of scientific evidence are affected by the mass media’s science coverage. In this study, we tested cultivation effects of features from German science TV shows on laypersons’ beliefs about science and their interest in science. A sample of adults (N = 700) representative of the German population in terms of age, sex, and education participated in a longitudinal field experiment with an extended Solomon four-group design (two experimental and three control groups). The treatment consisted of six successive media stimuli, which portrayed scientific evidence as either certain or uncertain, over the course of 6 weeks. Results indicate media effects on participants’ beliefs about the certainty of scien...

Measuring the perceived uncertainty of scientific evidence and its relationship to engagement with science

Many scholars have argued for the need to communicate openly not only scientific successes to the public but also limitations, such as the tentativeness of research findings, in order to enhance public trust and engagement. Yet, it has not been quantitatively assessed how the perception of scientific uncertainties relates to engagement with science on an individual level. In this article, we report the development and testing of a new questionnaire in English and German measuring the perceived uncertainty of scientific evidence. Results indicate that the scale is reliable and valid in both language versions and that its two subscales are differentially related to measures of engagement: Science-friendly attitudes were positively related only to ‘subjectively’ perceived uncertainty, whereas interest in science as well as behavioural engagement actions and intentions were largely uncorrelated. We conclude that perceiving scientific knowledge to be uncertain is only weakly, but positively related to engagement with science.