Exploring Citizens’ Responses to Science in Public Policy

• In Event: Poster Session: STEP 2 & New Perspectives within Political Psychology
  In Poster Session: Poster Session: STEP 2

Abstract

This paper examines the conditions under which the public views scientific evidence as relevant and authoritative in policy-making by analyzing three UK-based case studies: traffic restrictions in low emission or "Clean Air Zones," GM crops, and mpox contact tracing. Using natural language processing, Part 1 examines the variations in tone, level of uncertainty, and source of scientific claims based on a corpus drawn from the print media (both local and national news stories) and parliament (Lords, Commons, and Select Committee debate transcripts). In Part 2, we use a conjoint experiment conducted within a nationally representative survey to evaluate the effect of these key factors on citizens' support for the policies in question, and specifically perceptions of legitimacy, trust, and willingness to comply. Our findings speak to the conference theme by investigating the flow of information and feedback across producers of scientific evidence (research organisations), intermediate or advocacy organisations connecting science and policy, and citizens in the context of potentially unpopular policies.

Authors

• Laszlo Horvath, Birkbeck College, University of London

• Deborah Mabbett, University of London, Birkbeck College