How bad science

gets

good legs: myths, misperceptions

and the media

Cami Ryan, B.Comm, Ph.D.Canola Council of Canada Convention

San Antonio, Texas

February, 2014

People like stories and are

storytellers…

Important part of our social fabric

We like metaphors

We like symbols

Cami & canola

Photos courtesy: Wilf Keller

QUESTIONRESEARCH

HYPOTHESIZE

PREPARE

EXPERIMENTCOLLECT DATA

CONCLUDE

Buying Behaviour…

Why go backwards when…

Rasmussen 1962

Michael Specter, journalist and author

“We have never

lived in a time when

we’ve needed

science so badly…”

Why do

people BELIEVE

what they

BELIEVE?

?

?

??

?

??

?

??

??

FiltersFilters

GMOs = BAD

INFORMATION

Dog noses or space aliens?

HUMAN COGNITIVE HABITS

Those with GMO axes to grind…

HUMAN COGNITIVE HABITS

They ‘get’ it, they leverage it

Misplaced

perceptionsof who

the EXPERTS

really are…an

Agri-Intellectual

The Dunning-Kruger Effect (1999)

less knowledgeable

moreknowledgeable

Unskilled and unaware of it!

Celebrity influence

Those with GMO axes to grind…

Perceptions about EXPERTISE

They ‘get’ it, they leverage it

Social Media ->

‘just in time’ users

72% use mobile technology (Pew

Institute 2013)

Social networks

Social media platforms

Rise of the ‘citizen journalist’ (Gant 2007)

Adult use of social networking sites

and Twitter (2005 to 2013)

So

urc

e:

Pe

w In

stitu

te 2

013

Social networking site use by age

group (2005-2013) (Pew Institute 2013)

So

urc

e:

Pe

w In

stitu

te 2

013

From Activism to “Clicktivism”

Political engagement has

changed

Matter of clicking a few links

‘Lazy’ Activism

Avoid ‘drastic action’

Maybe less commitment to a

cause

Small donors can now

engage

Every little bit adds up!

Sources: White, M. (2010); Sunstein 2001

Those with GMO axes to grind…

SOCIAL MEDIA &

Personal NETWORKS

They ‘get’ it, they leverage it

Public Perceptions of

Science

‘science-industrial complex’ & private good

(Maseele 2009)

Traditional science communication model

One-way

Top-down and driven by private interests

Paternalistic

Increase public acceptance?

Raise awareness

Educate

Enhance scientific literacy

Old models

no longer work!

Ryan, C. 2014

“An informed citizenry is necessary in the

formulation of public policy.”Jon Miller (2007)

Those with GMO axes to grind…

PERCEPTIONS OF SCIENCE

They ‘get’ it, they leverage it

Personal networks

Human cognitive

habits

Perceptionsof ExpertisePerceptions

of Science

What the…?!

INFORMATION

Scientific Research

Good Poor

PEER REVIEW

NO YES YES NO

PR

Campaign

Replication

MAKES GREAT

HEADLINES!“Standing on the

Shoulder of Giants”

Media Headlines???

NOT SO MUCH…

Scientific consensus:

"the judgment arrived at

by most of those concerned"

Miriam Webster Dictionary

Science -> ‘silent’?

Industry -> passive?

Public sector:

Scientists have been

“…slow to move beyond traditional forms of

communication…” (Ryan

and Doerksen 2013)

No incentives/rewards

(Braxton and Del Favero

2002; Iverson et al 2003)

Industry:

Old models?

“…more than 500 activistorganizations are SPENDING

in excess of

$2.5 billion per year engaging in food-related campaigns.”

J.Byrne 2011

New COMPETITIVE landscape for

industry & knowledge producers

New set of stakeholders…

…that play by a

whole new set of market rules!

What’s the tipping point?

Will there be a tipping point?

Likely never win the hearts and minds of everyone

Understanding public perceptions of GE and GMOs:

Qualitative differences between academic studies &

media polls

Media can shape opinion

Studies -> “wildly variable results” (Lusk 2011)

Opinion on GE or GMOs depends a great deal on how you

ask the question (Hallman et al 2013)

PUBLIC OPINION

Movement in the media?

GRIST’s series on Panic-free

GMOs

Daily Meal series

Fraley’s article in HuffPo

Novella’s article in Mother

Jones

Some strategies?

Stories by influential others

Mark Lynas, Julee K – Sleuth4Health, Fourat Junabi

Sarah Schultz: nurse, farmer and mommy blogger

Anchor new symbols around ag and food and science

Meaningful, appeals to values

Transform facts / info ->

Meaningful, appeals to values

“sense-making” and “social representation”- Marcu et al (2014) -

Lots of ‘good news’ out there…

34

Photo: J. Kamiya-Rose

BLOG: doccamiryan.wordpress.com

@DocCamiRyan

Cami Ryan on science, tech & ag

HOW BAD SCIENCE GETS GOOD LEGS

Cami Ryan, B.Comm., Ph.D.

College of Agriculture and Bioresources

University of Saskatchewan