Trust in scientists and their role in society across 68 countries

Viktoria Cologna (), Niels G. Mede, Sebastian Berger, John Besley, Cameron Brick, Marina Joubert, Edward W. Maibach, Sabina Mihelj, Naomi Oreskes, Mike S. Schäfer, Sander Linden, Nor Izzatina Abdul Aziz, Suleiman Abdulsalam, Nurulaini Abu Shamsi, Balazs Aczel, Indro Adinugroho, Eleonora Alabrese, Alaa Aldoh, Mark Alfano, Innocent Mbulli Ali, Mohammed Alsobay, Marlene Altenmüller, R. Michael Alvarez, Richard Amoako, Tabitha Amollo, Patrick Ansah, Denisa Apriliawati, Flavio Azevedo, Ani Bajrami, Ronita Bardhan, Keagile Bati, Eri Bertsou, Cornelia Betsch, Apurav Yash Bhatiya, Rahul Bhui, Olga Białobrzeska, Michał Bilewicz, Ayoub Bouguettaya, Katherine Breeden, Amélie Bret, Ondrej Buchel, Pablo Cabrera-Álvarez, Federica Cagnoli, André Calero Valdez, Timothy Callaghan, Rizza Kaye Cases, Sami Çoksan, Gabriela Czarnek, Steven Peuter, Ramit Debnath, Sylvain Delouvée, Lucia Stefano, Celia Díaz-Catalán, Kimberly C. Doell, Simone Dohle, Karen M. Douglas, Charlotte Dries, Dmitrii Dubrov, Małgorzata Dzimińska, Ullrich K. H. Ecker, Christian T. Elbaek, Mahmoud Elsherif, Benjamin Enke, Tom W. Etienne, Matthew Facciani, Antoinette Fage-Butler, Md. Zaki Faisal, Xiaoli Fan, Christina Farhart, Christoph Feldhaus, Marinus Ferreira, Stefan Feuerriegel, Helen Fischer, Jana Freundt, Malte Friese, Simon Fuglsang, Albina Gallyamova, Patricia Garrido-Vásquez, Mauricio E. Garrido Vásquez, Winfred Gatua, Oliver Genschow, Omid Ghasemi, Theofilos Gkinopoulos, Jamie L. Gloor, Ellen Goddard, Mario Gollwitzer, Claudia González-Brambila, Hazel Gordon, Dmitry Grigoryev, Gina M. Grimshaw, Lars Guenther, Håvard Haarstad, Dana Harari, Lelia N. Hawkins, Przemysław Hensel, Alma Cristal Hernández-Mondragón, Atar Herziger, Guanxiong Huang, Markus Huff, Mairéad Hurley, Nygmet Ibadildin, Maho Ishibashi, Mohammad Tarikul Islam, Younes Jeddi, Tao Jin, Charlotte A. Jones, Sebastian Jungkunz, Dominika Jurgiel, Zhangir Kabdulkair, Jo-Ju Kao, Sarah Kavassalis, John R. Kerr, Mariana Kitsa, Tereza Klabíková Rábová, Olivier Klein, Hoyoun Koh, Aki Koivula, Lilian Kojan, Elizaveta Komyaginskaya, Laura König, Lina Koppel, Kochav Koren Nobre Cavalcante, Alexandra Kosachenko, John Kotcher, Laura S. Kranz, Pradeep Krishnan, Silje Kristiansen, André Krouwel, Toon Kuppens, Eleni A. Kyza, Claus Lamm, Anthony Lantian, Aleksandra Lazić, Oscar Lecuona, Jean-Baptiste Légal, Zoe Leviston, Neil Levy, Amanda M. Lindkvist, Grégoire Lits, Andreas Löschel, Alberto López Ortega, Carlos Lopez-Villavicencio, Nigel Mantou Lou, Chloe H. Lucas, Kristin Lunz-Trujillo, Mathew D. Marques, Sabrina J. Mayer, Ryan McKay, Hugo Mercier, Julia Metag, Taciano L. Milfont, Joanne M. Miller, Panagiotis Mitkidis, Fredy Monge-Rodríguez, Matt Motta, Iryna Mudra, Zarja Muršič, Jennifer Namutebi, Eryn J. Newman, Jonas P. Nitschke, Ntui-Njock Vincent Ntui, Daniel Nwogwugwu, Thomas Ostermann, Tobias Otterbring, Jaime Palmer-Hague, Myrto Pantazi, Philip Pärnamets, Paolo Parra Saiani, Mariola Paruzel-Czachura, Michal Parzuchowski, Yuri G. Pavlov, Adam R. Pearson, Myron A. Penner, Charlotte R. Pennington, Katerina Petkanopoulou, Marija B. Petrović, Jan Pfänder, Dinara Pisareva, Adam Ploszaj, Karolína Poliaková, Ekaterina Pronizius, Katarzyna Pypno-Blajda, Diwa Malaya A. Quiñones, Pekka Räsänen, Adrian Rauchfleisch, Felix G. Rebitschek, Cintia Refojo Seronero, Gabriel Rêgo, James P. Reynolds, Joseph Roche, Simone Rödder, Jan Philipp Röer, Robert M. Ross, Isabelle Ruin, Osvaldo Santos, Ricardo R. Santos, Philipp Schmid, Stefan Schulreich, Bermond Scoggins, Amena Sharaf, Justin Sheria Nfundiko, Emily Shuckburgh, Johan Six, Nevin Solak, Leonhard Späth, Bram Spruyt, Olivier Standaert, Samantha K. Stanley, Gert Storms, Noel Strahm, Stylianos Syropoulos, Barnabas Szaszi, Ewa Szumowska, Mikihito Tanaka, Claudia Teran-Escobar, Boryana Todorova, Abdoul Kafid Toko, Renata Tokrri, Daniel Toribio-Florez, Manos Tsakiris, Michael Tyrala, Özden Melis Uluğ, Ijeoma Chinwe Uzoma, Jochem Noord, Christiana Varda, Steven Verheyen, Iris Vilares, Madalina Vlasceanu, Andreas Bubnoff, Iain Walker, Izabela Warwas, Marcel Weber, Tim Weninger, Mareike Westfal, Florian Wintterlin, Adrian Dominik Wojcik, Ziqian Xia, Jinliang Xie, Ewa Zegler-Poleska, Amber Zenklusen and Rolf A. Zwaan
Additional contact information
Viktoria Cologna: Harvard University
Niels G. Mede: University of Zurich
Sebastian Berger: University Bern
John Besley: Michigan State University
Cameron Brick: University of Amsterdam
Marina Joubert: Stellenbosch University
Edward W. Maibach: George Mason University
Sabina Mihelj: Loughborough University
Naomi Oreskes: Harvard University
Mike S. Schäfer: University of Zurich
Sander Linden: University of Cambridge
Suleiman Abdulsalam: Mohammed VI Polytechnic University
Nurulaini Abu Shamsi: Universiti Malaya
Balazs Aczel: Eotvos Lorand University
Indro Adinugroho: University of Sheffield
Alaa Aldoh: University of Amsterdam
Mark Alfano: Macquarie University
Innocent Mbulli Ali: University of Dschang
Mohammed Alsobay: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Marlene Altenmüller: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
R. Michael Alvarez: California Institute of Technology
Richard Amoako: George Mason University
Tabitha Amollo: Egerton University
Patrick Ansah: George Mason University
Denisa Apriliawati: Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Kalijaga
Flavio Azevedo: University of Utrecht
Ani Bajrami: University of Tirana
Ronita Bardhan: University of Cambridge
Keagile Bati: University of Botswana
Eri Bertsou: University of St. Gallen
Cornelia Betsch: University of Erfurt
Rahul Bhui: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Olga Białobrzeska: SWPS University
Michał Bilewicz: University of Warsaw
Ayoub Bouguettaya: University of Birmingham
Katherine Breeden: Harvey Mudd College
Amélie Bret: LPPL
Ondrej Buchel: Institute for Sociology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences
Pablo Cabrera-Álvarez: Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology
Federica Cagnoli: University of Genoa
André Calero Valdez: University of Lübeck
Timothy Callaghan: Boston University School of Public Health
Rizza Kaye Cases: University of the Philippines Diliman
Sami Çoksan: Erzurum Technical University
Gabriela Czarnek: Jagiellonian University
Steven Peuter: KU Leuven
Ramit Debnath: California Institute of Technology
Sylvain Delouvée: Université Rennes 2
Lucia Stefano: University of Genoa
Celia Díaz-Catalán: Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology
Kimberly C. Doell: University of Vienna
Simone Dohle: University Hospital Bonn
Karen M. Douglas: University of Kent
Charlotte Dries: University of Potsdam
Dmitrii Dubrov: HSE University
Małgorzata Dzimińska: University of Lodz
Ullrich K. H. Ecker: University of Western Australia
Christian T. Elbaek: Aarhus University
Mahmoud Elsherif: University of Birmingham
Benjamin Enke: Harvard University
Tom W. Etienne: University of Pennsylvania
Matthew Facciani: University of Notre Dame
Antoinette Fage-Butler: Aarhus University
Md. Zaki Faisal: a2i Programme of ICT Division and UNDP Bangladesh
Xiaoli Fan: University of Alberta
Christina Farhart: Carleton College
Christoph Feldhaus: Ruhr-University Bochum
Marinus Ferreira: Macquarie University
Stefan Feuerriegel: LMU Munich
Helen Fischer: Leibniz Institut für Wissensmedien
Jana Freundt: Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts
Malte Friese: Saarland University
Simon Fuglsang: Aarhus University
Albina Gallyamova: HSE University
Patricia Garrido-Vásquez: Universidad de Concepción
Mauricio E. Garrido Vásquez: Universidad de Concepción
Winfred Gatua: University of Bristol
Oliver Genschow: Leuphana University
Omid Ghasemi: University of New South Wales
Theofilos Gkinopoulos: Jagiellonian University
Jamie L. Gloor: University of St. Gallen
Ellen Goddard: University of Alberta
Mario Gollwitzer: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Claudia González-Brambila: Instituto Técnológico Autónomo de México
Hazel Gordon: University of Sheffield
Dmitry Grigoryev: HSE University
Gina M. Grimshaw: Victoria University of Wellington
Lars Guenther: LMU Munich
Håvard Haarstad: University of Bergen
Dana Harari: Technion—Israel Institute of Technology
Lelia N. Hawkins: Harvey Mudd College
Przemysław Hensel: University of Warsaw
Alma Cristal Hernández-Mondragón: Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politícnico Nacional
Atar Herziger: Technion—Israel Institute of Technology
Guanxiong Huang: City University of Hong Kong
Markus Huff: Leibniz Institut für Wissensmedien
Mairéad Hurley: Trinity College Dublin
Nygmet Ibadildin: KIMEP University
Maho Ishibashi: University of Tokyo
Mohammad Tarikul Islam: Jahangirnagar University
Younes Jeddi: Mohammed VI Polytechnic University
Tao Jin: University of Minnesota
Charlotte A. Jones: University of Tasmania
Sebastian Jungkunz: University of Bamberg
Dominika Jurgiel: Nicolaus Copernicus University
Zhangir Kabdulkair: KIMEP University
Jo-Ju Kao: National Taiwan University
Sarah Kavassalis: Harvey Mudd College
John R. Kerr: University of Otago
Mariana Kitsa: Lviv Polytechnic National University
Tereza Klabíková Rábová: Charles University
Olivier Klein: Université Libre de Bruxelles
Hoyoun Koh: Nazarbayev University
Aki Koivula: University of Turku
Lilian Kojan: University of Lübeck
Elizaveta Komyaginskaya: HSE University
Laura König: University of Bayreuth
Lina Koppel: Linköping University
Kochav Koren Nobre Cavalcante: University of Adam Mickiewicz
Alexandra Kosachenko: Ural Federal University
John Kotcher: George Mason University
Laura S. Kranz: Victoria University of Wellington
Pradeep Krishnan: University of St. Gallen
Silje Kristiansen: University of Bergen
André Krouwel: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Toon Kuppens: University of Groningen
Eleni A. Kyza: Cyprus University of Technology
Claus Lamm: University of Vienna
Anthony Lantian: Université Paris Nanterre
Aleksandra Lazić: University of Belgrade
Oscar Lecuona: Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Jean-Baptiste Légal: Université Paris Nanterre
Zoe Leviston: Australian National University
Neil Levy: Macquarie University
Amanda M. Lindkvist: Linköping University
Grégoire Lits: University of Louvain
Alberto López Ortega: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Carlos Lopez-Villavicencio: Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia
Nigel Mantou Lou: University of Victoria
Chloe H. Lucas: University of Tasmania
Kristin Lunz-Trujillo: Harvard University
Mathew D. Marques: La Trobe University
Sabrina J. Mayer: University of Bamberg
Ryan McKay: University of London
Hugo Mercier: CNRS
Julia Metag: University of Muenster
Taciano L. Milfont: University of Waikato
Joanne M. Miller: University of Delaware
Panagiotis Mitkidis: Aarhus University
Fredy Monge-Rodríguez: Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia
Matt Motta: Boston University School of Public Health
Iryna Mudra: Lviv Polytechnic National University
Zarja Muršič: University of Ljubljana
Jennifer Namutebi: Nkumba University
Eryn J. Newman: Australian National University
Jonas P. Nitschke: University of Vienna
Ntui-Njock Vincent Ntui: University of Buea
Daniel Nwogwugwu: Bowen University
Thomas Ostermann: Witten/Herdecke University
Tobias Otterbring: University of Adger
Jaime Palmer-Hague: Trinity Western University
Myrto Pantazi: Université Libre de Bruxelles
Philip Pärnamets: Karolinska Institutet
Paolo Parra Saiani: University of Genoa
Mariola Paruzel-Czachura: University of Silesia in Katowice
Michal Parzuchowski: SWPS University
Yuri G. Pavlov: University of Tübingen
Adam R. Pearson: Pomona College
Myron A. Penner: Trinity Western University
Charlotte R. Pennington: Aston University
Katerina Petkanopoulou: University of Crete
Marija B. Petrović: University of Belgrade
Jan Pfänder: CNRS
Dinara Pisareva: Nazarbayev University
Adam Ploszaj: University of Warsaw
Karolína Poliaková: Charles University
Ekaterina Pronizius: University of Vienna
Katarzyna Pypno-Blajda: University of Silesia in Katowice
Diwa Malaya A. Quiñones: University of the Philippines Diliman
Pekka Räsänen: University of Turku
Adrian Rauchfleisch: National Taiwan University
Felix G. Rebitschek: University of Potsdam
Cintia Refojo Seronero: Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology
Gabriel Rêgo: National Institute of Science and Technology on Social and Affective Neuroscience
James P. Reynolds: Aston University
Joseph Roche: Trinity College Dublin
Simone Rödder: University of Hamburg
Jan Philipp Röer: Witten/Herdecke University
Robert M. Ross: Macquarie University
Isabelle Ruin: Grenoble-INP
Osvaldo Santos: University of Lisbon
Ricardo R. Santos: University of Lisbon
Philipp Schmid: University of Erfurt
Stefan Schulreich: University of Vienna
Bermond Scoggins: Australian National University
Amena Sharaf: Independent Researcher
Justin Sheria Nfundiko: Université Officielle de Bukavu
Emily Shuckburgh: University of Cambridge
Johan Six: ETH Zurich
Nevin Solak: TED University
Leonhard Späth: ETH Zurich
Bram Spruyt: Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Olivier Standaert: University of Louvain
Samantha K. Stanley: University of New South Wales
Gert Storms: KU Leuven
Noel Strahm: University Bern
Stylianos Syropoulos: Boston College
Barnabas Szaszi: Eotvos Lorand University
Ewa Szumowska: Jagiellonian University
Mikihito Tanaka: Waseda University
Claudia Teran-Escobar: Université Paris Nanterre
Boryana Todorova: University of Vienna
Abdoul Kafid Toko: Mohammed VI Polytechnic University
Renata Tokrri: Milto Tutulani
Daniel Toribio-Florez: University of Kent
Manos Tsakiris: University of London
Michael Tyrala: Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Özden Melis Uluğ: University of Sussex
Ijeoma Chinwe Uzoma: University of Nigeria Nsukka
Jochem Noord: University of Groningen
Christiana Varda: Cyprus University of Technology
Steven Verheyen: Erasmus University Rotterdam
Iris Vilares: University of Minnesota
Madalina Vlasceanu: New York University
Andreas Bubnoff: Rhine-Waal University
Iain Walker: Australian National University
Izabela Warwas: University of Lodz
Marcel Weber: Saarland University
Tim Weninger: University of Notre Dame
Mareike Westfal: Leuphana University
Florian Wintterlin: University of Muenster
Adrian Dominik Wojcik: Nicolaus Copernicus University
Ziqian Xia: Tongji University
Jinliang Xie: Tsinghua University
Ewa Zegler-Poleska: University of Warsaw
Amber Zenklusen: University of St. Gallen
Rolf A. Zwaan: Erasmus University Rotterdam

Nature Human Behaviour, 2025, vol. 9, issue 4, 713-730

Abstract: Abstract Science is crucial for evidence-based decision-making. Public trust in scientists can help decision makers act on the basis of the best available evidence, especially during crises. However, in recent years the epistemic authority of science has been challenged, causing concerns about low public trust in scientists. We interrogated these concerns with a preregistered 68-country survey of 71,922 respondents and found that in most countries, most people trust scientists and agree that scientists should engage more in society and policymaking. We found variations between and within countries, which we explain with individual- and country-level variables, including political orientation. While there is no widespread lack of trust in scientists, we cannot discount the concern that lack of trust in scientists by even a small minority may affect considerations of scientific evidence in policymaking. These findings have implications for scientists and policymakers seeking to maintain and increase trust in scientists.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41562-024-02090-5

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