Cultural cognition of the risks and benefits of nanotechnology

被引:263
作者
Kahan, Dan M. [1 ]
Braman, Donald [2 ]
Slovic, Paul [3 ]
Gastil, John [4 ]
Cohen, Geoffrey [5 ]
机构
[1] Yale Univ, Sch Law, New Haven, CT 06520 USA
[2] George Washington Univ, Sch Law, Washington, DC 20052 USA
[3] Decis Res, Eugene, OR 97401 USA
[4] Univ Washington, Dept Commun, Seattle, WA 98195 USA
[5] Univ Colorado, Dept Psychol, Boulder, CO 80309 USA
基金
美国国家科学基金会;
关键词
ORIENTING DISPOSITIONS; PERCEPTION; WORLDVIEWS; ACCEPTANCE;
D O I
10.1038/NNANO.2008.341
中图分类号
TB3 [工程材料学];
学科分类号
0805 ; 080502 ;
摘要
How is public opinion towards nanotechnology likely to evolve? The 'familiarity hypothesis' holds that support for nanotechnology will likely grow as awareness of it expands. The basis of this conjecture is opinion polling, which finds that few members of the public claim to know much about nanotechnology, but that those who say they do are substantially more likely to believe its benefits outweigh its risks(1-4). Some researchers, however, have avoided endorsing the familiarity hypothesis, stressing that cognitive heuristics and biases could create anxiety as the public learns more about this novel science(5,6). We conducted an experimental study aimed at determining how members of the public would react to balanced information about nanotechnology risks and benefits. Finding no support for the familiarity hypothesis, the study instead yielded strong evidence that public attitudes are likely to be shaped by psychological dynamics associated with cultural cognition.
引用
收藏
页码:87 / 90
页数:4
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