Disinterest in science greater than skepticism

For decades, people in Austria have shown little interest in science in various surveys, coupled with an outspoken skepticism about science. This was once again confirmed by the results of the Eurobarometer survey published in 2021. Against this background and the fact that scientific skepticism is often accompanied by hostility to democracy, Education Minister Martin Polaschek (ÖVP) last year ordered the IHS to conduct an investigation into the causes. “We want to find out the reasons why Austria has slipped so far here and find out whether the measures taken so far are not working,” said Polaschek on Tuesday when the first results were presented.

Lack of interest does not stand in the way of trust
So far, the IHS researchers, together with their colleagues from Aarhus University (Denmark), have, among other things, analyzed the existing literature and quantitative datasets from various studies on this topic. Polaschek emphasized that for now only initial trends can be detected. “In our data, we see that disinterest in science in Austria is more pronounced than systematic skepticism about different fields of science and a lack of trust in science,” says Starkbaum. As evidence of this, he cited Austrian data from the Wellcome Global Monitor. According to this report, more than 80 percent of those surveyed who are not interested in science say they trust science very or at least somewhat.

In the Eurobarometer study, a relatively large number of people in Austria would agree with scientifically skeptical or conspiracy theories, such as that climate change has a natural origin (31 percent agree), viruses are generated in the lab to control the population (23 percent) or the results of the cancer research are withheld for commercial purposes (21 percent). “But only a relatively small group — six percent — agree with all three statements,” says Starkbaum.

Pandemic has not fueled scientific skepticism
However, in all studies analyzed to date, trust in science has remained constant over time and higher than in other researched areas and government institutions. Even during the pandemic, there was no slump here, and scientific skepticism has not fueled the pandemic en masse. On the other hand, it is clear that satisfaction with democracy has declined sharply in recent years.

FPÖ voters have less faith in science
Differences in trust in science are reflected in voting behavior: People who vote on the right-wing political spectrum tend to have less trust, and this is particularly pronounced among FPÖ voters, Starkbaum said. The expert stressed that the change in the media could also play a role in the growing skepticism about science. There is no data for Austria yet, international studies would indicate that consumers of formats that transmit unsecured information, such as YouTube, are scientifically skeptical.

When asked whether politics should also have a nose, for example in view of statements such as that of Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP), who said: “Empiricism, science is one thing, the facts are another”, said Polaschek that such “selective statements play no role whatsoever”, they would “flare up for a while and then disappear again”. Starkbaum’s personal opinion on this: “Such interjections are ultimately not favorable.”