Social biases, identity-based reasoning, and trust in scientists

Human survival depends on cooperation for collective action, but also for the sharing and collecting of information that underpins cumulative culture. Trust as well as mistrust in scientists are shaped by social learning biases such as conformity, prestige, and similarity biases, and credibility-enhancing displays, evolved to help individuals navigate uncertainty by identifying trustworthy sources of information. Identity-based reasoning, a form of similarity bias, reflects how individuals accept or reject information according to group alignments. Motivated reasoning explains why maintaining such identity-affirming beliefs can be practically rational if not factually rational. Interventions aimed at tackling misinformation and mistrust should consider these social mechanisms and aim to increase the belief that the scientist has the best interests of the trustor at heart.