Misplaced Trust: When Trust in Science Breeds Belief in Pseudoscience and the Benefits of Critical Evaluation

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2021.104184

Commentary

Understanding this vulnerability and how to reduce it is of paramount importance when the survival of a community is threatened by the results of pseudoscience.

In this study, four preregistered experiments (N = 532, N = 472, N = 605, N = 382), an online US sample, presented false claims about (fictional) viruses created as bioweapons, conspiracy theories about COVID-19, and the carcinogenicity of GMOs (genetically modified organisms).

First, we identify two key determinants of vulnerability to pseudoscience.

We find that participants who trust science are more likely to believe and spread false claims that include scientific references than false claims that do not. Second, we found that reminding participants of the value of critical evaluation reduced belief in false claims, but reminding them of the value of trusting science did not.

We conclude from these results that trust in science is desirable in many ways, but that people are vulnerable to pseudoscience.