Evaluations of science are robustly biased by identity concerns
Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
People are known to evaluate science based on whether it (dis)affirms their collective identities. We examined whether personal identity concerns also bias evaluation processes by manipulating the degree to which summaries of ostensible scientific research about an unfamiliar topic manipulating whether summaries were or inconsistent with how participants thought about themselves. In three preregistered experiments (N = 644) conducted across two continents, participants were more likely to believe the science when its conclusions aligned with prior understanding of their self, effects that were mediated through positive emotional reactions. Two of the experiments also tested a de-biasing intervention: prior to evaluating science, participants received a brief tutorial on the ecological fallacy (of which, self-related biases represent a special case). The tutorial did not mitigate identity-biased evaluations. This experimental evidence raises questions about whether it is possible to engage global citizens more fully in science consumption while not further triggering identity-based biasing processes.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Group Processes and Intergroup Relations |
Volume | 24 |
Issue number | 4 |
Pages (from-to) | 568-582 |
Number of pages | 15 |
ISSN | 1368-4302 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 31 May 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:
We thank Matthew Hornsey and another (anonymous) reviewer for their feedback on an earlier version of this paper, and acknowledge the contributions of undergraduate students (Jona Cumani, Taylor Fischer, Reiko Regan, and Baylee Worth) to data collection for Experiment 1. The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2021.
- ecological fallacy, group processes, personal identity, responses to science
Research areas
ID: 274133389