Climate Change: Politics, science, and public attitudes: What we're learning, and why it matters

The bad news is that everybody does it. The good news is that social scientists are making progress in understanding why people ignore solid scientific evidence in deciding what they think about all manner of science-based issues—including how those topics should be taught in schools and addressed by policymakers.

The U.S. research community has long lamented how often the public disregards—or distorts—scientific findings. Many media pundits point the finger at partisan politics, although they offer contrasting explanations: Liberals often assert that Republicans are simply antiscience, whereas conservatives often insist that Democrats tout scientific findings to justify giving government a larger and more intrusive role.A leading social science journal, The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, takes a deep dive into the debate by devoting its March issue (subscription required) to "The Politics of Science." The issue, edited by political scientists Elizabeth Suhay of American University in Washington, D.C., and James Druckman of Northwestern University, includes some 15 articles that explore "the production, communication, and reception of scientific knowledge." And nobody gets a free pass.

"It's an equal opportunity scold," says the journal's executive editor, Thomas Kecskemethy. "I was fascinated by how the knowledge elites are vulnerable to their own biases."

The researchers provide no simple answers. (In truth, some of the articles are nearly impenetrable, larded with jargon and political theory.) But the special issue does offer some useful take-home messages:

Read More at: Politics, science, and public attitudes: What we're learning, and why it matters | Science | AAAS