The Einstein effect provides global evidence for scientific source credibility effects and the influence of religiosity

Suzanne Hoogeveen (), Julia M. Haaf, Joseph A. Bulbulia, Robert M. Ross, Ryan McKay, Sacha Altay, Theiss Bendixen, Renatas Berniūnas, Arik Cheshin, Claudio Gentili, Raluca Georgescu, Will M. Gervais, Kristin Hagel, Christopher Kavanagh, Neil Levy, Alejandra Neely, Lin Qiu, André Rabelo, Jonathan E. Ramsay, Bastiaan T. Rutjens, Hugh Turpin, Filip Uzarevic, Robin Wuyts, Dimitris Xygalatas and Michiel Elk
Additional contact information
Suzanne Hoogeveen: University of Amsterdam
Julia M. Haaf: University of Amsterdam
Joseph A. Bulbulia: Victoria University of Wellington
Robert M. Ross: Macquarie University
Ryan McKay: Royal Holloway, University of London
Sacha Altay: Institut Jean Nicod
Theiss Bendixen: Aarhus University
Renatas Berniūnas: Vilnius University
Arik Cheshin: University of Haifa
Claudio Gentili: University of Padova
Raluca Georgescu: Babes-Bolyai University
Will M. Gervais: Brunel University London
Kristin Hagel: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Christopher Kavanagh: University of Oxford
Neil Levy: Macquarie University
Alejandra Neely: Adolfo Ibáñez University
Lin Qiu: Nanyang Technological University
André Rabelo: Universidade de Brasília
Jonathan E. Ramsay: James Cook University
Bastiaan T. Rutjens: University of Amsterdam
Hugh Turpin: University of Oxford
Filip Uzarevic: Catholic University of Louvain
Robin Wuyts: University of Amsterdam
Dimitris Xygalatas: University of Connecticut
Michiel Elk: Leiden University

Nature Human Behaviour, 2022, vol. 6, issue 4, 523-535

Abstract: Abstract People tend to evaluate information from reliable sources more favourably, but it is unclear exactly how perceivers’ worldviews interact with this source credibility effect. In a large and diverse cross-cultural sample (N = 10,195 from 24 countries), we presented participants with obscure, meaningless statements attributed to either a spiritual guru or a scientist. We found a robust global source credibility effect for scientific authorities, which we dub ‘the Einstein effect’: across all 24 countries and all levels of religiosity, scientists held greater authority than spiritual gurus. In addition, individual religiosity predicted a weaker relative preference for the statement from the scientist compared with the spiritual guru, and was more strongly associated with credibility judgements for the guru than the scientist. Independent data on explicit trust ratings across 143 countries mirrored our experimental findings. These findings suggest that irrespective of one’s religious worldview, across cultures science is a powerful and universal heuristic that signals the reliability of information.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41562-021-01273-8

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