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Academics’ Attitudes Toward Engaging in Public Discussions: Experimental Evidence on the Impact of Engagement Conditions

Author

Listed:
  • Vitus Püttmann

    (Leibniz University Hannover)

  • Jens Ruhose

    (Kiel University
    CESifo Munich
    IZA Bonn)

  • Stephan L. Thomsen

    (Leibniz University Hannover
    IZA Bonn
    ZEW Mannheim)

Abstract

Growing demands and expectations on the side of policy makers and the public have changed the conditions for academics’ engagement in public discussions. At the same time, risks related to this engagement for the professional and even private lives of academics have become apparent. Conducting a survey experiment among 4091 tenured professors in Germany, we study how these conditions causally affect academics’ attitudes toward engaging. Consistent with the crowding-out of intrinsic motivation, we find less-positive attitudes when emphasizing demands for engagement by public authorities and public expectations toward science’s societal relevance. Effects are particularly strong among professors endorsing science–society relations. Moreover, effects are similar when highlighting risks associated with engagement, but more pronounced for females and younger professors. Emphasizing public support for academics’ engagement has no discernible effects. We conclude that considering individual incentive structures and safeguarding against negative repercussions may promote academics’ engagement and an adequate representation of the diversity of academics in the public.

Suggested Citation

  • Vitus Püttmann & Jens Ruhose & Stephan L. Thomsen, 2023. "Academics’ Attitudes Toward Engaging in Public Discussions: Experimental Evidence on the Impact of Engagement Conditions," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 64(5), pages 765-788, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:reihed:v:64:y:2023:i:5:d:10.1007_s11162-022-09725-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s11162-022-09725-4
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Science communication; Public engagement; Professor; Survey experiment; Intrinsic motivation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

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