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Psychological Distance to Science as a Predictor of Science Skepticism Across Domains.
Bojana Većkalov1, Natalia Zarzeczna1, Jonathon McPhetres2
1University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Psychological distance to science (PSYDISC) predicts skepticism across various scientific fields. This new measure also influences real-world behaviors like vaccine uptake.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Science Communication
- Sociology of Science
Background:
- Science skepticism is a growing concern impacting public health and policy.
- Existing predictors of science skepticism do not fully capture its domain-general nature.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce and validate the Psychological Distance to Science (PSYDISC) scale.
- To test PSYDISC as a domain-general predictor of science skepticism.
- To examine the relationship between PSYDISC and real-world science-related behaviors.
Main Methods:
- Development and validation of the PSYDISC scale across six studies (N=1,630) in two countries.
- Statistical analysis to assess the factor structure and predictive validity of PSYDISC.
- Examination of PSYDISC's influence on COVID-19 vaccination uptake.
Main Results:
- The PSYDISC scale demonstrated strong psychometric properties and a consistent factor structure.
- Higher PSYDISC scores significantly predicted lower science skepticism, even beyond established predictors.
- PSYDISC was a significant predictor of COVID-19 vaccination behavior.
Conclusions:
- PSYDISC offers a novel and robust measure for predicting science skepticism across diverse scientific domains.
- The findings suggest that perceived psychological distance to science is a key factor influencing public attitudes and behaviors.
- PSYDISC can contribute to a unifying framework for understanding and addressing science skepticism.
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