How the Chinese public makes decisions about controversial technologies:A case study on GMOs  

作　　者：Chunhui You 

机构地区：[1]Zhejiang University of Technology,Hangzhou 310014,China

出　　处：《Cultures of Science》2019年第4期277-292,共16页科学文化(英文)

基　　金：supported by the Science Popularization and Risk Communication of Transgenic Biotechnologies project (grant ID:2016ZX08015002)

摘　　要：A number of events in China in recent years have been characterized by tensions or controversies between scientists and the public, such as the p-Xylene chemical project in Xiamen, nuclear energy projects, and genetic engineering. Scientists tend to attribute such conflict to inadequate public knowledge of science, leading to misunderstandings about it. However, that view ignores the influence on public perceptions of news reports and online discussions about controversial technologies in new media. Social media reporting affects the audience's perception of the risks posed by controversial technologies and can cause people to lose confidence in the scientific community and damage their trust in government. Thus, the public opposes these technologies. In this context, this study explores the relationship between the public's trust in the scientific community and the government on the one hand and its attitude towards controversial technologies on the other. I surveyed 1,235 people using a national online probability sampling strategy. I found that people's use of new media was significantly related to the extent of their knowledge of specific controversial technologies and was associated with other people's opinions about those technologies. The more attention people paid to We Chat coverage of genetically modified organisms(GMOs), the more supportive they were of them. Thus, the public's use of new media is a key factor in predicting its positive attitude to GMOs. Scientific literacy also significantly affects public attitudes to GMOs, directly as well as indirectly.

关 键 词：New media use scientific knowledge risk perception TRUST attitude to science 

分 类 号：Q78-05[生物学—分子生物学]