Dr. Niels G. Mede - Trust in scientists and their role in society

Journal article

Viktoria Cologna, Niels G. Mede, Sebastian Berger, John C. Besley, Cameron Brick, Marina Joubert, Edward W. Maibach, Sabina Mihelj, Naomi Oreskes, Mike S. Schäfer, Sander van der Linden, Nor Izzatina Abdul Aziz, Suleiman Abdulsalam, Shamsi Shamsi, Balazs Aczel, Indro Adinugroho, Eleonora Alabrese, Alaa Aldoh, Mark Alfano, . . ., Rolf A. Zwaan
Nature Human Behaviour, 2025

DOI: 10.1038/s41562-024-02090-5

Cite

APA Click to copy
Cologna, V., Mede, N. G., Berger, S., Besley, J. C., Brick, C., Joubert, M., … Zwaan, R. A. (2025). Trust in scientists and their role in society across 68 countries. Nature Human Behaviour. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-02090-5

Chicago/Turabian Click to copy
Cologna, Viktoria, Niels G. Mede, Sebastian Berger, John C. Besley, Cameron Brick, Marina Joubert, Edward W. Maibach, et al. “Trust in Scientists and Their Role in Society across 68 Countries.” Nature Human Behaviour (2025).

MLA Click to copy
Cologna, Viktoria, et al. “Trust in Scientists and Their Role in Society across 68 Countries.” Nature Human Behaviour, 2025, doi:10.1038/s41562-024-02090-5.

BibTeX Click to copy

@article{cologna2025a,
  title = {Trust in scientists and their role in society across 68 countries},
  year = {2025},
  journal = {Nature Human Behaviour},
  doi = {10.1038/s41562-024-02090-5},
  author = {Cologna, Viktoria and Mede, Niels G. and Berger, Sebastian and Besley, John C. and Brick, Cameron and Joubert, Marina and Maibach, Edward W. and Mihelj, Sabina and Oreskes, Naomi and Schäfer, Mike S. and van der Linden, Sander and Abdul Aziz, Nor Izzatina and Abdulsalam, Suleiman and Shamsi, Shamsi and Aczel, Balazs and Adinugroho, Indro and Alabrese, Eleonora and Aldoh, Alaa and Alfano, Mark and . . . and Zwaan, Rolf A.}
}

Science is crucial for evidence-based decision-making. Public trust in scientists can help decision makers act on the basis of the best available evidence, especially during crises. However, in recent years the epistemic authority of science has been challenged, causing concerns about low public trust in scientists. We interrogated these concerns with a preregistered 68-country survey of 71,922 respondents and found that in most countries, most people trust scientists and agree that scientists should engage more in society and policymaking. We found variations between and within countries, which we explain with individual- and country-level variables, including political orientation. While there is no widespread lack of trust in scientists, we cannot discount the concern that lack of trust in scientists by even a small minority may affect considerations of scientific evidence in policymaking. These findings have implications for scientists and policymakers seeking to maintain and increase trust in scientists.