The anti-science movement never seems far away, whether its opposition to vaccines during the Covid pandemic or the stubborn persistence of climate change deniers. A new paper from the Rotman School of Management outlines four key reasons why people seem to have such anti-science beliefs.

The study examines the psychology of people with anti-science views and explores various evidence-based strategies for changing matters. This process begins by understanding why people hold such views, which the researchers boiled down to four key issues:

1. There is a sense that the scientists themselves lack credibility due to being biased, untrustworthy, or inexpert.
2. The audience strongly identifies with groups that are anti-science. If science conflicts with this group identity then it can easily be rejected. For instance, avid gamers may reject science that highlights the negative impact video games have.
3. The scientific message might go against the beliefs and preferences of the recipient.
4. The message might be delivered in a way that jars with how people normally approach information. For instance, if people dislike uncertainty then receiving a scientific message that is framed in terms of probability may not be well received.

Added to this, politics can play a crucial role in bolstering anti-science attitudes and can underpin each of the four reasons outlined above.

“There are potential solutions to mitigate anti-science attitudes by targeting one of the four reasons for anti science attitudes,” the authors explain. “Some of these solutions can be easily applied such as journals including non-technical “lay summaries” of articles along with an abstract so that interested lay people can read the information in terminology they understand.

“Scientific communication can also use different delivery approaches for different audiences as is already being done in forms of consumer marketing.”

Scientists might also consider reframing their message so that it chimes with the moral concerns of recipients. This approach has been validated by studies showing that it can reduce moral opposition to things such as vaccines.