New Pew Research Center surveys of citizens and a representative sample of scientists connected to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) show powerful
crosscurrents that both recognize the achievements of scientists and expose stark fissures between scientists and citizens on a range of science, engineering and technology issues.
Citizens’ and scientists’ views diverge sharply across a range of science, engineering and technology topics. Opinion differences occur on all 13 issues where a direct
comparison is available. A difference of less than 10 percentage points occurs on only two of the 13.
The largest differences between the public and the AAAS scientists are
found in beliefs about the safety of eating genetically modified (GM) foods. 88% of scientists say it is generally safe to eat GM foods compared with 37% of the general public, a difference of 51
percentage points. When it comes to GM crops, two-thirds of the public (67%) say scientists do not have a clear understanding about the health effects.
Science holds an
esteemed place among citizens and professionals, says the report. Americans recognize the accomplishments of scientists in key fields and, despite considerable dispute about the role of
government in other realms, there is broad public support for government investment in scientific research.
- 79% of adults say that science has made life easier for most people and a
majority is positive about science’s impact on the quality of health care, food and the environment.
- 54% of adults consider U.S. scientific achievements to be either the best in the
world (15%) or above average (39%) compared with other industrial countries.
- 92% of AAAS scientists say scientific achievements in the U.S. are the best in the world (45%) or above average
(47%).
Despite broadly similar views about the overall place of science in America, citizens and scientists often see science-related issues through different sets of
eyes. There are large differences in their views across a host of issues.
Compared with five years ago,
both citizens and scientists are less upbeat about the scientific enterprise. Citizens are still broadly positive about the place of U.S. scientific achievements and its impact on society, but
slightly more are negative than five years ago. And, while a majority of scientists think it is a good time for science, they are less upbeat than they were five years ago. Most scientists believe
that policy regulations on land use and clean air and water are not often guided by the best science.
- While a majority of the public sees U.S. scientific achievements in positive terms,
the share saying U.S. scientific achievements are the best in the world or above average is down 11 points to 54% today, compared with 65% in 2009
- 79% of citizens say that science has made
life easier for most people, while just 15% say it has made life more difficult. However, the balance of opinion is slightly less positive today than in 2009 when positive views outpaced negative ones
by a margin of 83% to 10%
- 52% of AAAS scientists say this is generally a good time for science, down 24 percentage points from 76% in 2009. Similarly, the share of scientists who say this is
generally a good time for their scientific specialty is down from 73% in 2009 to 62% today. And, the share of AAAS scientists saying that this is a good or very good time to begin a career in their
field now stands at 59%, down from 67% in 2009
- Only 15% of scientists say they believe policy choices about land use are guided by the best science most of the time or always; 27% think the
best science frequently guides regulations about clean air and water; 46% think the best science is frequently used in food safety regulations and 58% say the same when it comes to regulations about
new drug and medical treatments
These are some of the findings from a new pair of surveys conducted by the Pew Research Center in collaboration with the AAAS. The
margin of sampling error for results based on all adults is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
For additional information from Pew Research, please visit here.