Science literacy and the acceptance of scientific facts

Abstract

Science communication research provides insight into the role of science literacy in the acceptance of scientific facts. While it makes intuitive sense to expect the ability to understand and use science to be positively related to belief in scientific facts, some influential works have instead suggested that science literacy leads to polarization on controversial science topics. More recent studies, made possible by developments in the definition and measurement of science literacy, indicate that it is positively correlated with belief in scientific facts and likely does not lead to belief polarization in most situations. Still, more research investigating the various aspects of science literacy, testing the causal effect of improving it, and with samples from various countries and clear reporting of outcome variables is needed.