Towards a better understanding of science scepticism Psychological contributors and potential solutions

The work in this dissertation investigates science scepticism within publicly contested science domains. This involves domains in which a scientific consensus on fundamental facts has been established on, such as climate change, childhood vaccination, evolution, and genetically modified foods. Additionally, we investigated scepticism in emerging fields at the intersection of science and technology, including artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and human gene editing. Two interconnected aims guided the research: 1) identifying the psychological determinants associated with science scepticism across various domains, and 2) investigating how such psychological insights can inform science communication strategies aimed at mitigating science scepticism.
The first part of this thesis (Chapter 2) expanded upon research concerning worldview predictors of science scepticism to encompass evolving domains situated at the junction of science and technology. In the second part, the focus shifted to climate change scepticism, recognized as one of the most consequential strains of science scepticism. Specifically, in Chapter 3, we aimed to elucidate the psychological foundations of the ideological divide in climate change scepticism, while in Chapter 4 we evaluated the effectiveness of scientific consensus messaging as a strategy for mitigating climate-sceptical beliefs on a broad scale (i.e., across 27 countries). Lastly, the third part of this thesis introduced and examined the psychological distance to science (PSYDISC) framework as a tool for understanding and mitigating science scepticism across various domains, employing both correlational (Chapter 5) and experimental studies (Chapter 6).