Science communication and motivated science reception

Science communication and motivated science reception

Science is about posing questions and finding answers. We investigate how scientific lay people perceive research, what attitudes and trust they have towards researchers and their findings, and how individual and social motives may influence evaluations and interactions with science. Our findings also have implications for how researchers should communicate their findings to the public and how they should talk about their own research - for example, in the media.

Selected Publications:

• Altenmüller, M. S., Nuding, S., & Gollwitzer, M. (2021). No harm in being self-corrective: Self-criticism and reform intentions increase researchers’ epistemic trustworthiness and credibility in the eyes of the public. Public Understanding of Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/09636625211022181
• Altenmüller, M. S., Lange, L., & Gollwitzer, M. (2021). When research is me-search: How researchers’ motivation to pursue a topic affects laypeople’s trust in science. PLOS ONE, 16: e0253911. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0253911
• Rothmund, T., Gollwitzer, M., Nauroth, P. & Bender, J. (2017). Motivierte Wissenschaftsrezeption. Psychologische Rundschau, 68, 193-197. https://doi.org/10.1026/0033-3042/a000364
• Nauroth, P., Gollwitzer, M., Kozuchowski, H., Bender, J., & Rothmund, T. (2017). The effects of social identity threat and social identity affirmation on laypersons’ perception of scientists. Public Understanding of Science, 26, 754-770. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963662516631289
• Bender, J., Rothmund, T., Nauroth, P., & Gollwitzer, M. (2016). How moral threat shapes laypersons’ engagement with science. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 42, 1723-1735. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167216671518