Why simply teaching the public more science often fails to build real trust

Cultures · Published 9 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: For decades, experts assumed that if they just provided enough facts, the public would inevitably trust science. This deficit model has largely collapsed. Modern research shows that trust is shaped by socioeconomic factors and that true engagement requires listening to the public, not just lecturing them from a podium.

The movement to improve public understanding of science gained formal momentum in 1985 with the Royal Society's Bodmer Report, which triggered a cultural shift toward outreach. Initially, this was defined by the information deficit model: the belief that public skepticism stemmed from a lack of knowledge. However, this approach faced a reckoning in the 1990s. A landmark study by Brian Wynne on Cumbrian sheep farmers revealed that scientists failed to account for local knowledge regarding the Chernobyl nuclear fallout. Because experts ignored the farmers' practical expertise, they lost public trust and their own experimental models ultimately failed.

This failure led to the contextualist model, which emphasizes that knowledge communication is a social process. Scholars like Sheila Jasanoff have since argued for deliberative democracy, where the public participates in technological governance through consensus conferences and citizen juries. This is especially critical in the era of post-normal science, where high stakes and deep uncertainty surround issues like CRISPR gene editing. These 'wicked problems' lack single, factual solutions and require balancing scientific research with ethical values and societal needs.

Today, the most effective engagement strategies move beyond unidirectional education. Instead, they advocate for a culture of civic science, where researchers engage early, listen to diverse groups, and allow the public to influence the research process. This includes avoiding semantic traps where experts use vocabulary to tilt debates. Ultimately, meaningful engagement requires that the public has the power to influence science, even to the point of saying no to research that does not align with their broader values and priorities.

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