Conservative people in America appear to distrust science more broadly than previously thought. Not only do they distrust science that does not correspond to their worldview. Compared to liberal Americans, their trust is also lower in fields that contribute to economic growth and productivity. Short interventions aimed at strengthening trust have little effect. This is apparent from new research by social psychologists at the University of Amsterdam, which has now been published in Nature Human Behaviour.
It makes sense to me. Conservative media likes to portray “science” as an unfair threshing rod that separates the wheat (career academics) from the chaff (you and I). College is expensive, so the popular perception is that normal people can’t be scientists, you either have to be rich, or sell out for grants. Studies are locked behind paywalls, which furthers the idea that science is only for the select few, and the media says you’re just not good enough for science.
Then there’s the vibe that saying “this doesn’t make sense” just outs you as a lolcow to be mocked mercilessly. Combine that with an understanding of “anecdotes aren’t data” as “your experiences don’t matter”, and it makes sense that they feel like science is hostile.