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Trust in scientists and their role in society across 68 countries

Author

Listed:
  • Viktoria Cologna

    (Harvard University
    University of Zurich
    ETH Zurich)

  • Niels G. Mede

    (University of Zurich)

  • Sebastian Berger

    (University Bern)

  • John Besley

    (Michigan State University)

  • Cameron Brick

    (University of Amsterdam
    Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Lillehammer)

  • Marina Joubert

    (Stellenbosch University)

  • Edward W. Maibach

    (George Mason University)

  • Sabina Mihelj

    (Loughborough University)

  • Naomi Oreskes

    (Harvard University)

  • Mike S. Schäfer

    (University of Zurich)

  • Sander Linden

    (University of Cambridge)

  • Nor Izzatina Abdul Aziz

    (National University of Malaysia)

  • Suleiman Abdulsalam

    (Mohammed VI Polytechnic University)

  • Nurulaini Abu Shamsi

    (Universiti Malaya)

  • Balazs Aczel

    (Eotvos Lorand University)

  • Indro Adinugroho

    (University of Sheffield
    Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia)

  • Eleonora Alabrese

    (University of Bath)

  • Alaa Aldoh

    (University of Amsterdam)

  • Mark Alfano

    (Macquarie University)

  • Innocent Mbulli Ali

    (University of Dschang)

  • Mohammed Alsobay

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

  • Marlene Altenmüller

    (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
    Leibniz Institute for Psychology)

  • R. Michael Alvarez

    (California Institute of Technology)

  • Richard Amoako

    (George Mason University)

  • Tabitha Amollo

    (Egerton University)

  • Patrick Ansah

    (George Mason University)

  • Denisa Apriliawati

    (Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Kalijaga)

  • Flavio Azevedo

    (University of Utrecht
    National Institute of Science and Technology on Social and Affective Neuroscience)

  • Ani Bajrami

    (University of Tirana)

  • Ronita Bardhan

    (University of Cambridge)

  • Keagile Bati

    (University of Botswana)

  • Eri Bertsou

    (University of St. Gallen)

  • Cornelia Betsch

    (University of Erfurt)

  • Apurav Yash Bhatiya

    (University of Birmingham)

  • Rahul Bhui

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

  • Olga Białobrzeska

    (SWPS University)

  • Michał Bilewicz

    (University of Warsaw)

  • Ayoub Bouguettaya

    (University of Birmingham)

  • Katherine Breeden

    (Harvey Mudd College)

  • Amélie Bret

    (LPPL)

  • Ondrej Buchel

    (Institute for Sociology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences)

  • Pablo Cabrera-Álvarez

    (Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology)

  • Federica Cagnoli

    (University of Genoa)

  • André Calero Valdez

    (University of Lübeck)

  • Timothy Callaghan

    (Boston University School of Public Health)

  • Rizza Kaye Cases

    (University of the Philippines Diliman)

  • Sami Çoksan

    (Erzurum Technical University
    Western University)

  • Gabriela Czarnek

    (Jagiellonian University)

  • Steven Peuter

    (KU Leuven)

  • Ramit Debnath

    (California Institute of Technology
    University of Cambridge)

  • Sylvain Delouvée

    (Université Rennes 2)

  • Lucia Stefano

    (University of Genoa)

  • Celia Díaz-Catalán

    (Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology
    Complutense University of Madrid)

  • Kimberly C. Doell

    (University of Vienna)

  • Simone Dohle

    (University Hospital Bonn)

  • Karen M. Douglas

    (University of Kent)

  • Charlotte Dries

    (University of Potsdam)

  • Dmitrii Dubrov

    (HSE University)

  • Małgorzata Dzimińska

    (University of Lodz)

  • Ullrich K. H. Ecker

    (University of Western Australia)

  • Christian T. Elbaek

    (Aarhus University)

  • Mahmoud Elsherif

    (University of Birmingham)

  • Benjamin Enke

    (Harvard University)

  • Tom W. Etienne

    (University of Pennsylvania)

  • Matthew Facciani

    (University of Notre Dame)

  • Antoinette Fage-Butler

    (Aarhus University)

  • Md. Zaki Faisal

    (a2i Programme of ICT Division and UNDP Bangladesh)

  • Xiaoli Fan

    (University of Alberta)

  • Christina Farhart

    (Carleton College)

  • Christoph Feldhaus

    (Ruhr-University Bochum)

  • Marinus Ferreira

    (Macquarie University)

  • Stefan Feuerriegel

    (LMU Munich)

  • Helen Fischer

    (Leibniz Institut für Wissensmedien)

  • Jana Freundt

    (Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts)

  • Malte Friese

    (Saarland University)

  • Simon Fuglsang

    (Aarhus University)

  • Albina Gallyamova

    (HSE University)

  • Patricia Garrido-Vásquez

    (Universidad de Concepción)

  • Mauricio E. Garrido Vásquez

    (Universidad de Concepción)

  • Winfred Gatua

    (University of Bristol)

  • Oliver Genschow

    (Leuphana University)

  • Omid Ghasemi

    (University of New South Wales
    University of New South Wales)

  • Theofilos Gkinopoulos

    (Jagiellonian University)

  • Jamie L. Gloor

    (University of St. Gallen)

  • Ellen Goddard

    (University of Alberta)

  • Mario Gollwitzer

    (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München)

  • Claudia González-Brambila

    (Instituto Técnológico Autónomo de México)

  • Hazel Gordon

    (University of Sheffield)

  • Dmitry Grigoryev

    (HSE University)

  • Gina M. Grimshaw

    (Victoria University of Wellington)

  • Lars Guenther

    (LMU Munich)

  • Håvard Haarstad

    (University of Bergen
    University of Bergen)

  • Dana Harari

    (Technion—Israel Institute of Technology)

  • Lelia N. Hawkins

    (Harvey Mudd College)

  • Przemysław Hensel

    (University of Warsaw)

  • Alma Cristal Hernández-Mondragón

    (Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politícnico Nacional)

  • Atar Herziger

    (Technion—Israel Institute of Technology)

  • Guanxiong Huang

    (City University of Hong Kong)

  • Markus Huff

    (Leibniz Institut für Wissensmedien
    Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen)

  • Mairéad Hurley

    (Trinity College Dublin)

  • Nygmet Ibadildin

    (KIMEP University)

  • Maho Ishibashi

    (University of Tokyo)

  • Mohammad Tarikul Islam

    (Jahangirnagar University)

  • Younes Jeddi

    (Mohammed VI Polytechnic University)

  • Tao Jin

    (University of Minnesota)

  • Charlotte A. Jones

    (University of Tasmania)

  • Sebastian Jungkunz

    (University of Bamberg
    University of Bonn)

  • Dominika Jurgiel

    (Nicolaus Copernicus University)

  • Zhangir Kabdulkair

    (KIMEP University)

  • Jo-Ju Kao

    (National Taiwan University)

  • Sarah Kavassalis

    (Harvey Mudd College)

  • John R. Kerr

    (University of Otago)

  • Mariana Kitsa

    (Lviv Polytechnic National University)

  • Tereza Klabíková Rábová

    (Charles University)

  • Olivier Klein

    (Université Libre de Bruxelles)

  • Hoyoun Koh

    (Nazarbayev University)

  • Aki Koivula

    (University of Turku)

  • Lilian Kojan

    (University of Lübeck)

  • Elizaveta Komyaginskaya

    (HSE University)

  • Laura König

    (University of Bayreuth
    University of Vienna)

  • Lina Koppel

    (Linköping University)

  • Kochav Koren Nobre Cavalcante

    (University of Adam Mickiewicz)

  • Alexandra Kosachenko

    (Ural Federal University)

  • John Kotcher

    (George Mason University)

  • Laura S. Kranz

    (Victoria University of Wellington)

  • Pradeep Krishnan

    (University of St. Gallen)

  • Silje Kristiansen

    (University of Bergen
    University of Bergen)

  • André Krouwel

    (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

  • Toon Kuppens

    (University of Groningen)

  • Eleni A. Kyza

    (Cyprus University of Technology)

  • Claus Lamm

    (University of Vienna)

  • Anthony Lantian

    (Université Paris Nanterre)

  • Aleksandra Lazić

    (University of Belgrade)

  • Oscar Lecuona

    (Universidad Complutense de Madrid)

  • Jean-Baptiste Légal

    (Université Paris Nanterre)

  • Zoe Leviston

    (Australian National University)

  • Neil Levy

    (Macquarie University
    University of Oxford)

  • Amanda M. Lindkvist

    (Linköping University)

  • Grégoire Lits

    (University of Louvain)

  • Andreas Löschel

    (Ruhr-University Bochum)

  • Alberto López Ortega

    (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

  • Carlos Lopez-Villavicencio

    (Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia)

  • Nigel Mantou Lou

    (University of Victoria)

  • Chloe H. Lucas

    (University of Tasmania)

  • Kristin Lunz-Trujillo

    (Harvard University
    Northeastern University)

  • Mathew D. Marques

    (La Trobe University)

  • Sabrina J. Mayer

    (University of Bamberg)

  • Ryan McKay

    (University of London)

  • Hugo Mercier

    (CNRS)

  • Julia Metag

    (University of Muenster)

  • Taciano L. Milfont

    (University of Waikato)

  • Joanne M. Miller

    (University of Delaware)

  • Panagiotis Mitkidis

    (Aarhus University)

  • Fredy Monge-Rodríguez

    (Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia)

  • Matt Motta

    (Boston University School of Public Health)

  • Iryna Mudra

    (Lviv Polytechnic National University)

  • Zarja Muršič

    (University of Ljubljana)

  • Jennifer Namutebi

    (Nkumba University)

  • Eryn J. Newman

    (Australian National University)

  • Jonas P. Nitschke

    (University of Vienna)

  • Ntui-Njock Vincent Ntui

    (University of Buea)

  • Daniel Nwogwugwu

    (Bowen University)

  • Thomas Ostermann

    (Witten/Herdecke University)

  • Tobias Otterbring

    (University of Adger)

  • Jaime Palmer-Hague

    (Trinity Western University)

  • Myrto Pantazi

    (Université Libre de Bruxelles)

  • Philip Pärnamets

    (Karolinska Institutet)

  • Paolo Parra Saiani

    (University of Genoa)

  • Mariola Paruzel-Czachura

    (University of Silesia in Katowice
    University of Pennsylvania)

  • Michal Parzuchowski

    (SWPS University)

  • Yuri G. Pavlov

    (University of Tübingen)

  • Adam R. Pearson

    (Pomona College)

  • Myron A. Penner

    (Trinity Western University)

  • Charlotte R. Pennington

    (Aston University)

  • Katerina Petkanopoulou

    (University of Crete)

  • Marija B. Petrović

    (University of Belgrade)

  • Jan Pfänder

    (CNRS)

  • Dinara Pisareva

    (Nazarbayev University)

  • Adam Ploszaj

    (University of Warsaw)

  • Karolína Poliaková

    (Charles University)

  • Ekaterina Pronizius

    (University of Vienna)

  • Katarzyna Pypno-Blajda

    (University of Silesia in Katowice)

  • Diwa Malaya A. Quiñones

    (University of the Philippines Diliman)

  • Pekka Räsänen

    (University of Turku)

  • Adrian Rauchfleisch

    (National Taiwan University)

  • Felix G. Rebitschek

    (University of Potsdam
    Max Planck Institute for Human Development)

  • Cintia Refojo Seronero

    (Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology)

  • Gabriel Rêgo

    (National Institute of Science and Technology on Social and Affective Neuroscience
    Mackenzie Presbyterian University)

  • James P. Reynolds

    (Aston University)

  • Joseph Roche

    (Trinity College Dublin)

  • Simone Rödder

    (University of Hamburg)

  • Jan Philipp Röer

    (Witten/Herdecke University)

  • Robert M. Ross

    (Macquarie University)

  • Isabelle Ruin

    (Grenoble-INP)

  • Osvaldo Santos

    (University of Lisbon)

  • Ricardo R. Santos

    (University of Lisbon
    NOVA University of Lisbon)

  • Philipp Schmid

    (University of Erfurt
    Bernhard-Nocht-Institute for Tropical Medicine
    Radboud University Nijmegen)

  • Stefan Schulreich

    (University of Vienna
    Universität Hamburg)

  • Bermond Scoggins

    (Australian National University)

  • Amena Sharaf

    (Independent Researcher)

  • Justin Sheria Nfundiko

    (Université Officielle de Bukavu
    Université Catholique de Bukavu)

  • Emily Shuckburgh

    (University of Cambridge)

  • Johan Six

    (ETH Zurich)

  • Nevin Solak

    (TED University)

  • Leonhard Späth

    (ETH Zurich)

  • Bram Spruyt

    (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)

  • Olivier Standaert

    (University of Louvain)

  • Samantha K. Stanley

    (University of New South Wales
    University of New South Wales
    Australian National University)

  • Gert Storms

    (KU Leuven)

  • Noel Strahm

    (University Bern)

  • Stylianos Syropoulos

    (Boston College)

  • Barnabas Szaszi

    (Eotvos Lorand University)

  • Ewa Szumowska

    (Jagiellonian University)

  • Mikihito Tanaka

    (Waseda University)

  • Claudia Teran-Escobar

    (Université Paris Nanterre
    Grenoble-INP)

  • Boryana Todorova

    (University of Vienna)

  • Abdoul Kafid Toko

    (Mohammed VI Polytechnic University)

  • Renata Tokrri

    (Milto Tutulani)

  • Daniel Toribio-Florez

    (University of Kent)

  • Manos Tsakiris

    (University of London
    University of London)

  • Michael Tyrala

    (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology)

  • Özden Melis Uluğ

    (University of Sussex)

  • Ijeoma Chinwe Uzoma

    (University of Nigeria Nsukka)

  • Jochem Noord

    (University of Groningen
    Vrije Universiteit Brussel)

  • Christiana Varda

    (Cyprus University of Technology
    UCLan Cyprus)

  • Steven Verheyen

    (Erasmus University Rotterdam)

  • Iris Vilares

    (University of Minnesota)

  • Madalina Vlasceanu

    (New York University)

  • Andreas Bubnoff

    (Rhine-Waal University)

  • Iain Walker

    (Australian National University
    University of Melbourne)

  • Izabela Warwas

    (University of Lodz)

  • Marcel Weber

    (Saarland University)

  • Tim Weninger

    (University of Notre Dame)

  • Mareike Westfal

    (Leuphana University)

  • Florian Wintterlin

    (University of Muenster)

  • Adrian Dominik Wojcik

    (Nicolaus Copernicus University)

  • Ziqian Xia

    (Tongji University)

  • Jinliang Xie

    (Tsinghua University)

  • Ewa Zegler-Poleska

    (University of Warsaw)

  • Amber Zenklusen

    (University of St. Gallen)

  • Rolf A. Zwaan

    (Erasmus University Rotterdam)

Abstract

Science is crucial for evidence-based decision-making. Public trust in scientists can help decision makers act on the basis of the best available evidence, especially during crises. However, in recent years the epistemic authority of science has been challenged, causing concerns about low public trust in scientists. We interrogated these concerns with a preregistered 68-country survey of 71,922 respondents and found that in most countries, most people trust scientists and agree that scientists should engage more in society and policymaking. We found variations between and within countries, which we explain with individual- and country-level variables, including political orientation. While there is no widespread lack of trust in scientists, we cannot discount the concern that lack of trust in scientists by even a small minority may affect considerations of scientific evidence in policymaking. These findings have implications for scientists and policymakers seeking to maintain and increase trust in scientists.

Suggested Citation

  • Viktoria Cologna & Niels G. Mede & Sebastian Berger & John Besley & Cameron Brick & Marina Joubert & Edward W. Maibach & Sabina Mihelj & Naomi Oreskes & Mike S. Schäfer & Sander Linden & Nor Izzatina , 2025. "Trust in scientists and their role in society across 68 countries," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 9(4), pages 713-730, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nathum:v:9:y:2025:i:4:d:10.1038_s41562-024-02090-5
    DOI: 10.1038/s41562-024-02090-5
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