The Effects of the Politicization of Science on Public Support for Emergent Technologies

Does the politicization of science influence support for emergent technologies? Can it render appeals to evidence impotent? The authors study these questions by focusing on public support for an emergent energy technology, i.e., nuclear power. Using an experiment embedded within a large survey, they explore how exposure to information that primes the politicization of science affects support for using nuclear power. They find that when individuals are primed to think about the politicization of science, a frame that highlights the environmental benefits of nuclear power, with or without a reference to scientific evidence, is rendered invalid, and support for using it decreases. This is a first attempt to set an agenda of research within political science that focuses on how the politicization of science shapes public opinion toward emergent technologies and trust in science. The results have implications for the future of scientific innovations in today’s politicized scientific climate.