Public engagement with emerging technologies: Does reflective thinking affect survey responses?

[dan.car...@gmail.com]

Our latest survey research in Public Understanding of Science found that encouraging the public to think more about CDR or SRM technologies doesn't change their first impressions. Instead, citizens rely on snap judgements to form stable assessments of emerging technologies.

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epub: https://journals-sagepub-com.ezproxy.massey.ac.nz/doi/epub/10.1177/09636625211029438

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177%2F09636625211029438

Public engagement with emerging technologies: Does reflective thinking affect survey responses?
Daniel P. Carlisle, Pamela M. Feetham, Malcolm J. Wright, Damon A. H. Teagle

Abstract

Researchers disagree on the extent that brief survey methods accurately reflect citizens’ opinions of unfamiliar scientific concepts. We examine whether encouraging participants to engage in more reflective thinking affects their perceptions of emerging climate technologies. Drawing on dual-process theories of reasoning, we apply experimental manipulations to encourage fast, intuitive thinking or slow, reflective thinking when responding to an online survey. Similarities in concept evaluation time between the Control and the Intuitive treatment groups indicates that citizens default to fast intuitive judgements to form opinions. However, despite a successful manipulation check, the reflective treatment group did not show any substantively different results. Therefore, encouraging additional thinking is unlikely to shift public perceptions. Post hoc analysis suggests participants with stronger views may nonetheless take more time to consider their response, without prompting. These findings support the validity of surveys as a method for eliciting stable and meaningful public perceptions of emerging technologies.  

Carlisle DP, Feetham PM, Wright MJ, Teagle DAH (2021) Public engagement with emerging technologies: Does reflective thinking affect survey responses? Public Understanding of Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/09636625211029438