Table 6 Convergent validity tests: Zero-order correlations of trust in scientists, science-related populist attitudes, outspokenness about science, SDO and related constructs.

From: Perceptions of science, science communication, and climate change attitudes in 68 countries – the TISP dataset

Trust in scientistsa

Perceived bias by personal/third interestsb

Confidence in scientistsc

Willingness to be vulnerabled

Preference for evidence-informed policy-makinge

Science-related populist attitudesf

−0.337 (0.004)***

0.707 (0.002)***

0.458 (0.004)***

0.293 (0.004)***

Perceived integrity of scientistsg

Trust in scientific methodsh

Right-leaning political orientationi

Social Dominance Orientationj

Outspokenness about sciencek

−0.130 (0.005)***

−0.146 (0.004)***

0.176 (0.005)***

0.201 (0.004)***

Communicate with others about sciencel

Exposure to science information in messaging appsm

Talk about science with friends or familyn

Social Dominance Orientationj

0.261 (0.003)***

0.164 (0.004)***

0.205 (0.004)***

Right-leaning political orientationi

Conservative political orientation°

Support for research on defence and military technologyp

Endorsement of taxes on carbon intense foodsq

 

0.218 (0.004)***

0.194 (0.004)***

0.083 (0.004)***

0.021 (0.004)***

  1. Note: Table displays weighted estimates of Pearson correlations in the analysis-ready dataset51 (N = 69,534) and bootstrapped standard errors in brackets. ***p < 0.001.
  2. aMean of the 12-item trustworthiness scale.
  3. bAverage agreement with the items “Scientists are only interested in their own advantage” and “Scientists are in cahoots with politicians and businesses”, i.e. the conceptions of the academic elite dimension of the SciPop Scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree)24.
  4. cResponse to the item “How much confidence do you have in scientists to act in the best interests of the public?” (1 = no confidence at all, 5 = a great deal of confidence).
  5. dAverage response to the three items measuring willingness to be vulnerable to scientists (1 = not willing at all, 5 = very much willing).
  6. eAgreement with the item “Scientists should work closely with politicians to integrate scientific results into policy-making” (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree).
  7. fGoertz score of the SciPop Scale.
  8. gAverage response to the three items measuring the perceived integrity of scientists, i.e. “How honest or dishonest are most scientists?”, “How ethical or unethical are most scientists?” and “How sincere or insincere are most scientists?” (1 = no integrity, 5 = very high integrity).
  9. hAgreement with the item “Scientific research methods are the best way to find out if something is true or false.” (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree).
  10. iResponse to the item “Please indicate your political orientation” (1 = strongly left-leaning, 5 = strongly right-leaning).
  11. jMean of the 4-item scale measuring social dominance orientation.
  12. kMean of the 3-item outspokenness scale.
  13. lAverage agreement with the four items measuring how often respondents communicate with others about science (1 = never, 7 = once or more per day).
  14. mResponse to the item “Over the past 12 months, how often have you come across information about science in instant messaging conversations with friends or family (e.g., WhatsApp, Line, Telegram)?” (1 = never, 7 = once or more per day).
  15. nResponse to the item “Over the past 12 months, how often have you come across information about science in conversations with friends or family (i.e., outside the Internet and messaging apps)?” (1 = never, 7 = once or more per day).
  16. °Response to the item “Please indicate your political orientation” (1 = strongly liberal, 5 = strongly conservative).
  17. pResponse to the item “What goals should scientists prioritize? – Developing defence and military technology” (1 = very low priority, 5 = very high priority).
  18. qResponse to the item “Please indicate your level of support for the following policies. – Increasing taxes on carbon intense foods (e.g., beef and dairy products)” (1 = not at all, 2 = moderately, 3 = very much).
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