The Public Attitude Toward Science The annual report of the National Science Board, which is

puhlished in odd-numbered years, gives a quantitative as- sessment of the state of US. science in the form of statistics and interpretations of trends. The latest report-Science Indicators 1980-contains a section on puhlic attitudes tnward scienw and t r r l i ~ ~ ~ h g y which includes responses to ~turstions desirned to identify programs on which the public thinks government should spend~tax money. This section forms the basis for the general conclusion that the public is still favorably disposed toward science and technology.

Responses to questions concerning limitations on scientific inouirv show that Americans are generallv arrainst such re- . , . .. strictions; n notable pxcpptinn is the ~pposifion 10 rcientiita rreatine new liie forms. Almost two-thirds o i thr rml~li(! 11elie.r.e that &dies in this area should not be pursued. Fear of the unknown and of possible misuse of the discoveries are among the reasons cited for oplxainl: such genetic engineering. The conclusin~~ a > f the nmi<,ritv of the put~lic su rwwd felt that "scientific discoveries make our l i v e change too fast," while a near majority thought that "scientific discoveries tend to break down people's ideas of right and wrong," all of which is reminiscent of the environment which fostered "creation science" legislation in several states.

The public's perceptions on how tax monies should he spent for the support of science and technology contain some in- teresting priorities. In a list of 13 areas, "improving health" and "developing energy resources" were ranked the highest; "education" was ranked third; "developing and improving weapons for national defense" was seventh; and "discovering new knowledge about man and nature", "exploring outer space", and "predicting and controlling weather" were ranked among the lowest. It should he more than slightly disturbing to the scientific community that the general puhlic perceives the aquisition of new knowledge-the fundamental basis of modern technology-to he so lacking in merit as to place it among the lowest on the list of areas to he supported. The message is clear; the puhlic interest tends to focus on the practical and immediate rather than on results that are remote from daily life.

About 20 percent of the sample of people surveyed were

identified as being "attentive," i.e., as having a greater interest in and knowledge of science than the puhlic a t large. Not surprisinglv, these better-informed persons generally re- . . q~ondrd mow positiw~ly tcg quritions ctmcerning science and tt41nnlol:y. This was clearl) illu\trated hy the responses on three issues that have received considerable space exploration, food additives, and the siting of nuclear power olants. Some 61 nercent of the "attentives" saw onlv henefit and no harm in space rxphmtim as cumpm:d with 42 percent o i the total ouhlir. (hrinuilv. 110th grnur)s rilnk(>d space ex- ploration low in the list of ar& that ihouid receive t& dollars for research. Food additives were viewed as harmful and without henefit by a larger proportion of the general puhlic (30 percent) than of the attentive group (12 percent). Both groups were close in their views on the siting of nuclear power plants. Fifty percent of the attentive group and 46 percent of the total public saw both harms and benefits in such siting; 51 percent of the attentive group and 65 percent of the total public were opposed to theloca&on of nuclear power plants in their own areas.

Attempts were made in the latest report: to link statistically the current results with those obtained in the 1957 survey. During the period covered by these two reports there has been ageneral erosion in attitudes on the part of both the attentive group and the total puhlic toward science and technology. Loss of ground in this regard has been the greatest among the eeneral public. Although the present report still indicates strong gkneral agreement (61 percent) that the benefits of scientific research have outweighed the perceived harmful results, the favorable majorityipinion has been declining about one percent per sear since 1957. Extrapolation of this d(.cline su&sts that the balance of positive opinion rrgarding science will shift ton negatiw opinion. it must l)crmphasized that these data were collected before the impact o f t hi, fiwal philuwphy uf the currrnt i.'cdt:r.~l administration was fully develn~ed. This alonr with the rerul:lr drcline in uuhlic opinion should give to consid& the long term implica- tions of sustaining a viable environment for science in the near - future.

JJL

Volume 59 Number 5 May 1982 351