Given their lack of background knowledge, laypeople require expert help when dealing with scientific information. To decide whose is dependable, must judge an expert's epistemic trustworthiness in terms competence, adherence to standards, and good intentions. Online, this may be difficult due the often limited sometimes unreliable source information available. measure laypeople's evaluations experts (encountered online), we constructed inventory assess on dimensions expertise, integrity,...

Scientists (and science as a whole) provide evidence and advice for societal problem solving collective decision-making. For this to be heard, the public must willing trust science, where “trust” means that one can confidently expect reliable knowledge evidence, even if one’s understanding of is bounded. According sociological psychological literature, citizens’ basic attitudes toward, experiences with, perceived trustworthiness trustee serve antecedents trust. From this, we developed model...

Abstract: Introduction: In times of crisis like COVID-19, science communication is a means to provide orientation the public. Science places high demands on capabilities those who conduct it, and, thus, interventions should be developed and evaluated for their effectiveness. Aim: This paper introduces an intervention support knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, performance. The manualized one-day training program covered basics specific strategies enhance comprehensibility, involvement,...

In methodological and practical debates about replications in science, it is (often implicitly) assumed that will affect public trust science. this preregistered experiment (N = 484), we varied (a) whether a replication attempt was successful or not (b) the authored by same, another lab. Results showed ratings of study credibility (e.g. evidence strength, ηP2 .15) researcher trustworthiness expertise, were rated higher upon learning success, lower case failure. The replication's author did...

Public and private decision-making on health problems relies scientific evidence. However, knowledge includes uncertainty, as does about COVID-19. In an experimental study, we tested how the trustworthiness (on three dimensions expertise, integrity, benevolence) of a source information (either scientist or politician), was affected when messages were either two-sided (including arguments pro contra effectiveness mask-wearing) one-sided (only arguments). Results showed that scientists...

The experimental studies presented here investigated whether discussing ethical implications of preliminary scientific results in a science blog would impact readers’ perception the responsible scientist blogger’s epistemic trustworthiness (on dimensions expertise, integrity, and benevolence). They also it made difference who had brought forward ethics aspects: blogger or another expert. Results indicate that by mere introduction ethics, people infer something about communicative intentions:...

Even though a main goal of science is to reduce the uncertainty in scientific results by applying ever-improving research methods, epistemic an integral part science. As such, while might be communicated news articles about climate science, skeptics have also exploited this cast doubt on itself. We performed two studies assess whether affects laypeople’s assessments issue uncertainty, credibility information, their trust scientists and impacts decision-making. In addition, we addressed how...

Trust in science is both a goal and prerequisite for communication. While participatory methods are claimed to build this trust, supporting evidence remains limited. In an online experiment ( N = 725), we investigated how different levels of participation designing article impact message credibility, trustworthiness, trust intention toward scientist. Active enhanced perceptions the scientist’s benevolence integrity but not their expertise or credibility. Prior intentions moderated most...

Scientific knowledge is intrinsically uncertain; hence, it can only provide a tentative orientation for political decisions. One illustrative example the discussion that has taken place on introducing mandatory mask-wearing to contain coronavirus. In this context, study investigates how communication of uncertainty regarding effectiveness affects perceived trustworthiness communicators. Participants ( N = 398) read fictitious but evidence-based text supporting mask-wearing. First, epistemic...

Abstract. To guide their professional practice, (pre-service) teachers consider information from a variety of sources. One prerequisite for source preference is the extent to which considered as expert, integer, and benevolent (i.e., its ascribed epistemic trustworthiness). Recent research indicates that pre-service ascribe more expertise but less integrity benevolence educational researchers than practitioners ( Merk & Rosman, 2019 ). However, whether this so-called “smart evil”...

The occurrence of COVID-19 has a strong impact on individuals’ as well public life. This Special Issue brings together research language and communication addressing the challenges resulting from Corona virus situation. Seven original papers followed by discussion, address related to using different theoretical backgrounds, methodological approaches, foci individual, interpersonal, intergroup perspectives. addressed in contributions stretch discrimination stigmatization laypeople's...

Outreach activities might facilitate researchers’ boundary crossing not only between science and society but also disciplines. This offers opportunities for learning reflection on the individual organizational level, resulting in what we call retroactive effects. We questioned N = 75 researchers of two interdisciplinary research programs. Researchers reported positive effects their enjoyment skills engaging outreach (OA) partly agreed that OA had benefited communication networking within...

The published version is now available here: https://www.elgaronline.com/edcollchap/book/9781802200942/book-part-9781802200942-11.xml chapter provides a conceptual clarification of the concept 'public trust in science'. Our starting point model formulated by Mayer, Davis, and Schoormann (1995), which has been widely used research since then. Here, it specified for context citizens' encounter with science, using example COVID-19 pandemic, particular Hydroxychloroquine controversy (which...