新媒体环境下科学知识对争议性科技态度的影响--以转基因为例

The Impact of Scientific Knowledge on Attitudes towards Controversial Technology in China:A Case Study on Genetically Modified Organisms(GMO)

社交媒体一方面加快了科学传播的速度,另一方面也加强了争议性科学议题(如疫苗、核电和转基因技术)在公众当中的讨论。在社交媒体等新信息传播技术赋予普通人更多表达和参与机会的今天,科学与民意的碰撞愈演愈烈,面对民众的强烈质疑,科学家常归咎于民众科学知识的缺乏。本研究通过一项全国性的抽样调查(N=1235),探讨不同新媒体平台的科学信息如何影响受众科学知识的建构,并通过经典O-S-O-R模型的引入,检验和解释新媒体使用、科学知识与态度之间的多元关联。数据结果很好地证明了O-S-O-R模型在争议科学技术议题当中的适用性。研究发现,关注微信公众号中的转基因信息,既可以对受众的态度产生直接影响,也可以透过科学知识这一变量产生间接的影响;关注微博信息,可以直接影响受众的购买行为,但无法透过科学知识产生间接影响。最后,针对知识及其影响,研究发现并非所有的科学知识内容都能对态度产生正向影响,特别是当受众越了解转基因发展现况的知识点,反而越倾向拒绝购买转基因相关产品。

This study fills the gap by exploring the relationship between the level of scientific knowledge and the attitude towards controversial technologies, a major concern across societies over the past decades. Based on a national online probability sampling strategy, a survey yielding 1,235 valid cases was conducted. In this study, we found that people’s knowledge about a specific technology issue, i.e., GMO, is related to their educational majors and GMOrelated new media usage. People’s knowledge about GMO, GMO’s general development and social consequences are positively related to their attitudes towards GMO. The implications of our findings regarding science communication on GMO were also discussed accordingly.