Cultural cognition of scientific consensus

2010/09/12 by Dan M. Kahan, Hank Jenkins‐Smith, Donald Braman · 7 citations
Medicine · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Climate Change Communication and Perception #Climate change #Cognition #Computer science #Cultural Differences and Values #Epistemology #Global warming #Medicine #Perception #Political science #Possession (linguistics) #Process (computing) #Psychology #Risk Perception and Management #Risk communication #Risk perception #Scientific consensus #Scientific evidence #Social psychology

paper · doi:10.1080/13669877.2010.511246

openalex publication_date 2010/09/12 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06

Abstract

Why do members of the public disagree – sharply and persistently – about facts on which expert scientists largely agree? We designed a study to test a distinctive explanation: the cultural cognition of scientific consensus. The ‘cultural cognition of risk’ refers to the tendency of individuals to form risk perceptions that are congenial to their values. The study presents both correlational and experimental evidence confirming that cultural cognition shapes individuals’ beliefs about the existence of scientific consensus, and the process by which they form such beliefs, relating to climate change, the disposal of nuclear wastes, and the effect of permitting concealed possession of handguns. The implications of this dynamic for science communication and public policy‐making are discussed.

Citations

• Biased assimilation and attitude polarization: The effects of prior theories on subsequently considered evidence.
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• A Narrative Policy Framework: Clear Enough to Be Wrong?
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Cited by

• The polarizing impact of science literacy and numeracy on perceived climate change risks
• Science denial: a guide for scientists
• Don't Tell Me What I Don't Want to Hear! Politicization and Ideological Conflict Explain Why Citizens Have Lower Trust in Climate Scientists and Economists Than in Other Natural Scientists
• Geographic variation in opinions on climate change at state and local scales in the USA
• Climate Change Conspiracy Theories
• NASA Faked the Moon Landing—Therefore, (Climate) Science Is a Hoax
• Cultural cognition [wikipedia]

Related

• In consensus we trust? Persuasive effects of scientific consensus communication
• Climate‐Science Communication and the Measurement Problem
• Debunking the Climate Sceptic and the Threat of Self‐Defeat
• A Conceptual Critique of the Cultural Cognition Thesis
• Knowledge about the nature of science increases public acceptance of science regardless of identity factors