A Study Of Public Attitudes Towards Science And Technology In My Country And Its Influencing Factors

Based on a comprehensive and systematic review of previous studies,the thesis uses the longitudinal datasets drawn from the "World Values Survey" and the "Survey on Public Image of Scientific and Technological Workers in China" to answer the following questions:(1)how to evaluate the status and changing trends of the public's attitude towards science and technology in China?(2)What important factors influence the public's attitude towards science and technology in China?(3)Does the public's attitude towards the generalized science and technology affect their acceptance of controversial technologies?On the first question,the thesis adopts multi-dimensional indicators to measure the public's attitude towards science and technology.The results show that the Chinese public holds a relatively “positive” attitude towards generalized science and technology while with a reasonable level of reflexivity and vigilance,compared with the one in other major countries.Although it seems that the positive attitude towards science and technology used to descend from 1995/2001 to 2011,it has been ascending since the year 2011.In general,there is no evidence of a “crisis of trust in science” in China during the last 20 years.On the second question,by synthesizing the theoretical framework of previous research,the thesis proposes an analytical framework consist of multiple explaining factors,e.g.,scientific knowledge,mass media,social structure,social and cultural values and economic and social development stages.Each factor is tested based on the method of general linear regression or mixed linear regression.Each factor shows significant effect on the attitude toward science and technology,among which some variables,e.g.,scientific knowledge,watching television,connection to scientific community,secular/rational values and etc.,shows different effects from the studies in western societies.In addition,the stage of modernization at the level of province also affects the attitude significantly.On the third question,after controlling other important influencing variables,the thesis examines the influence of the attitudes toward the generalized science and technology on the public's attitude on various controversial science and technology topics,such as the acceptance of the development of artificial intelligence,genetically modification,nuclear energy,and the conclusion of global climate change.The results show that all the three dimensions of the attitude toward generalized science and technology have significant effects on the acceptance of controversial technologies.Furthermore,the reflexivity and vigilance of the negative impact of science and technology even has a positive relation with the acceptance of controversial technology,which might mean that this dimension of the attitudes should not be considered as a “negative” attitude.On the basis of the above empirical analysis,the thesis summarizes and discusses the findings and proposes suggestions to shape and improve the public's positive and healthy attitude towards science and technology.Finally,the paper discusses the shortcomings of the research and points out future research topics and directions.