Ideological polarization over science in Spain: the case of antiscientific attitudes, conspiracy beliefs, and trust in scientists
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Abstract
Social polarization over scientific facts has recently intensified due to the proliferation of populist movements and political parties. Drawing on data from the Social Perception of Science and Technology Survey conducted by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT), we examine ideological polarization over science in Spain. We employ ANOVA to analyze the formation of ideological groups concerning three theoretical constructs: anti-science attitudes, conspiracy beliefs, and trust in scientists. The ideological groups identified include left-wing populism, left-wing, right-wing, and right-wing populism. The findings indicate a clear ideological polarization within the Spanish population regarding the three variables studied. Generally, left-wing and right-wing groups display a greater tendency toward pro-science attitudes. On the other hand, right-wing populist groups are more likely to adopt anti-scientific stances, endorse conspiracy beliefs, and exhibit lower trust in scientists. However, it cannot be argued that these groups adopt extremely radical positions with respect to the constructs analyzed.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
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Conselleria de Innovación, Universidades, Ciencia y Sociedad Digital, Generalitat Valenciana
Grant numbers 2021/00672
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