Who supports science-related populism? A nationally representative survey on the prevalence and explanatory factors of populist attitudes toward science in Switzerland

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0271204
• Publication Date: 2022-08-08T17:29:07Z
• Authors: Niels G. Mede; Mike S. Schäfer; Julia Metag; Kira Klinger
• Keywords: 1000 Multidisciplinary; Multidisciplinary; 300 Social sciences, sociology & anthropology; Science; 4. Education; Q; Politics; 05 social sciences; R; 0506 political science; 10240 Department of Communication and Media Research; Attitude; Medicine; Humans; 070 News media, journalism & publishing; Switzerland; Research Article

Science and its epistemology have been challenged byscience-related populism—a variant of populism suggesting that a virtuous “ordinary people,” and not allegedly corrupt academic elites, should determine the “production of truth.” Yet almost no studies have assessed the prevalence ofscience-related populist attitudesamong the population and explanatory factors thereof. Based on a nationally representative survey in Switzerland, our study shows that only a minority of the Swiss exhibit science-related populist attitudes. Comparisons with reference studies suggest that these attitudes may be less prevalent in Switzerland than political populist attitudes. Those who hold stronger science-related populist attitudes tend to have no university education, less personal contact with science, lower scientific literacy, and higher interest in science. Additional analyses show that left-leaning citizens are less likely to hold science-related populist attitudes than moderate and right-leaning citizens. Our findings contribute to current debates about a potential fragmentation of science communication audiences and call for further research on the sociodemographic and attitudinal profiles of people with skeptical orientations toward science.