Motivated Biases in the Reception of Scientific Knowledge (II): Mechanisms and Consequences

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In the first phase of this project we accumulated empirical evidence that laypeople selectively evaluate scientific findings and programs, that this selective evaluation reflects a form of motivated reasoning, and that these biases in the reception of scientific knowledge can be triggered by (a) a threat to one's social identity, and (b) a threat to one's moral convictions. These findings need to be complemented in two regards: First, we need to know more about the underlying psychological mechanisms that are driving the effects we found. Second, so far we know little about the behavioral and social consequences of these effects. Regarding potential mechanisms we now aim to elucidate the cognitive processes that potentially underlie a perceived threat to one's moral convictions and to one's social identity, and that can therefore motivate a selective processing of scientific knowledge. Regarding behavioral consequences, we will take a closer look at what people do when they engage publicly with science (e.g., over the internet). More precisely, we will test the hypothesis that (a) engaging in "flaming" (i.e., quickly and spontaneously emerging and increasingly hostile and insulting comments in virtual forums, blogs, or social networks) might be functional for coping with social identity threat, and that (b) online communication about research that is perceived as morally threatening might be functional in terms of political communication and persuasion.