Study: Tea Party Less Likely to Trust Scientists on Environment

New research from the University of New Hampshire finds two-thirds of Granite Staters trust scientists as a source of information on environmental issues, while Tea Party Republicans are much less likely to do so.

The Carsey Institute at UNH released the findings from a policy brief, "Do You Trust Scientists About the Environment?"

The report found New Hampshire Public Radio listeners much more likely to trust scientists.

Other research points:

• Almost two-thirds of New Hampshire residents surveyed in January-early February 2014 say that they trust scientists to provide accurate information about environmental issues. Only 12 percent do not trust scientists to provide this information.

• Large majorities within most political groups trust scientists, but only a small minority of tea party Republicans trust them.

• Wide disparities occur along party lines regarding many questions about science. The 53 percentage point gap between Democrats and Republicans on climate change is one of the largest for any issue.

• Trust in scientists shows a somewhat narrower Democrat-Republican gap (37 percent), which is larger than those for historically divisive social issues such as abortion or the death penalty.

• People who often listen to New Hampshire Public Radio are more likely to trust scientists and respond differently from other New Hampshire residents on science-related questions.

• People who often watch local television news or read newspapers, on the other hand, respond differently only on gun- or crime-related questions.

"Hearing from scientists directly heightens public awareness of what scientists do, what they know, and how they know it," said Lawrence Hamilton, professor of sociology and a senior fellow at the Carsey Institute, who conducted the research. "Other news media sources could potentially do that job as well, but our analysis suggests that NHPR has been most effective. Conversely, if scientists play only a background role in some media, with crime stories prominent in the foreground, their audiences will have less exposure to science perspectives and think more about crime."