Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 10, 2026

Author Spotlight: A Novel Setup to Conduct Naturalistic Laboratory Experiments with Real Human Actors in Scenarios
Published on: August 4, 2023
What's next for the psychology of science rejection?
Bastiaan T Rutjens1, Romy van der Lee2, Robbie M Sutton3
1Psychology Research Institute, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Abstract:
The last decade has seen a surge in research on science attitudes, trust in science, and science rejection. As a result, our understanding of the psychology of science rejection has substantially improved. This is important, because science rejection is a pernicious problem that can obstruct potential solutions to various pressing societal and environmental challenges. At the same time, this field of inquiry is limited in-at least-two important ways. First, much of the work conducted is descriptive in nature and not sufficiently guided by theory. Second, research has largely and disproportionately focused on a limited range of science domains, resulting in narrow and/or fuzzy conceptualizations and operationalizations of 'science'. In this article, we argue that for the field to move forward it needs to pay more attention to theory and validity.
Related Concept Videos
Revisionist Views of Adolescent and Adult Cognition
The Scientific Method
The Scientific Method
The Scientific Method
Generally, predictions are tested using carefully-designed experiments. Based on the outcome of these...
Scientific Nature of Social Psychology
Psychology as a Science
The scientific method in psychology involves six critical steps: making observations, formulating hypotheses, conducting tests, analyzing...

