From the ArcaMax Publishing, Health & Fitness Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/healthtips/s-360579-455433
MADISON, Wis. (UPI) -- When forming attitudes on embryonic stem cell
research, people are influenced by a number of factors, but science is
not one of them, U.S. researchers say.
A team of University of Wisconsin-Madison communications researchers
say that scientific knowledge -- for many citizens -- has an almost
negligible effect on how people regard the field.
"More knowledge is good -- everybody is on the same page about that.
But will that knowledge necessarily help build support for the
science?" Dietram Scheufele, one of the paper's three authors, says in
a statement. "The data show that no, it doesn't. It does for some
groups, but definitely not for others."
The researchers used national public opinion research to analyze how
public attitudes are formed about controversial scientific issues such
as nanotechnology and stem cells.
The study, published in the International Journal of Public Opinion,
finds again and again that knowledge is much less important than other
factors, such as religious values or deference to scientific
authority.
For respondents who reported that religion played a strong role in
their lives, scientific knowledge had no effect on their attitudes
toward stem cell research, but for those who claimed to be less
religious, understanding the science was linked to more positive views
of the research.