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Science beliefs, political ideology, and cognitive sophistication

Pennycook, Gordon; Bago, Bence; McPhetres, Jonathon

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Authors

Gordon Pennycook

Bence Bago



Abstract

Some theoretical models assume that a primary source of contention surrounding science belief is political and that partisan disagreement drives beliefs; other models focus on basic science knowledge and cognitive sophistication, arguing that they facilitate proscientific beliefs. To test these competing models, we identified a range of controversial issues subject to potential ideological disagreement and examined the roles of political ideology, science knowledge, and cognitive sophistication on science beliefs. Our results indicate that there was surprisingly little partisan disagreement on a wide range of contentious scientific issues. We also found weak evidence for identity-protective cognition (where cognitive sophistication exacerbates partisan disagreement); instead, cognitive sophistication (i.e., reasoning ability) was generally associated with proscience beliefs. In two studies focusing on anthropogenic climate change, we found that increased political motivations did not increase polarization among individuals who are higher in cognitive sophistication, which indicates that increased political motivations might not have as straightforward an impact on science beliefs as has been assumed in the literature. Finally, our findings indicate that basic science knowledge is the most consistent predictor of people’s beliefs about science across a wide range of issues. These results suggest that educators and policymakers should focus on increasing basic science literacy and critical thinking rather than on the ideologies that purportedly divide people.

Citation

Pennycook, G., Bago, B., & McPhetres, J. (2023). Science beliefs, political ideology, and cognitive sophistication. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 152(1), 80-97. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001267

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date 2023-01
Deposit Date Aug 23, 2022
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Journal of Experimental Psychology: General
Print ISSN 0096-3445
Electronic ISSN 0096-3445
Publisher American Psychological Association
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 152
Issue 1
Pages 80-97
DOI https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001267

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Copyright Statement
©American Psychological Association, 2022. This paper is not the copy of record and may not exactly replicate the authoritative document published in the APA journal. Please do not copy or cite without author's permission. The final article is available, upon publication, at: https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001267




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