212. Gale Sinatra & Barbara Hofer — Science Denial: Why It Happens and What to Do About It

The Michael Shermer Show

Michael Shermer

Dialogue, Science, Reason, Michaelshermer, Natural Sciences, Skeptic

4.4 • 921 Ratings

🗓️ 25 September 2021

⏱️ 90 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Michael Shermer speaks with Gale Sinatra and Barbara Hofer about the key psychological explanations for science denial and doubt that can help provide a means for improving scientific literacy and understanding — critically important at a time when denial has become deadly. Sinatra and Hofer offer tools for addressing science denial and explain both the importance of science education and its limitations, show how science communicators may inadvertently contribute to the problem, and explain how the internet and social media foster misinformation and disinformation. The authors focus on key psychological constructs such as reasoning biases, social identity, epistemic cognition, and emotions and attitudes that limit or facilitate public understanding of science, and describe solutions for individuals, educators, science communicators, and policy makers. If you have ever wondered why science denial exists, want to know how to understand your own biases and those of others, and would like to address the problem, this book will provide the insights you are seeking.

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to the Michael Sherman Show.
0:11.6	Welcome to the Michael Sherman Shower
0:19.1	Welcome to the Michael Sherman Show. I'm your host Michael Sherman. My guests today are Barbara
0:26.8	Hoffer and Gail Sinatra and their new book is Science Denial, why it happens and what to do about it. A rather timely subject. is the Stephen H Crocker Professor of Education in Psychology at the Rossier School of Education
0:36.1	at the University of Southern California, where she directs the Motivated Change Research Lab.
0:42.1	She received her BS, MS, and PhD in psychology from the University
0:45.8	of Massachusetts Amherst. She's been recognized by the American Educational Research Association
0:52.0	for Career Achievement's and Research with the Sylvia Scribner Award.
0:55.0	She resides in Alta Dina, California, where our offices are located.
1:00.0	Barbara Hoffer is Professor of Psychology Amerita at Middlebury College and is a
1:05.0	fellow of the American Psychological Association. She received her PhD in
1:09.0	Psychology and Education from the University of Michigan and an EDM in Human Development from Harvard.
1:15.0	She's a recipient of national awards for both research and teaching from the American
1:18.9	Education Research Association and the American Psychological Association,
1:23.2	and she lives in Middlebury, Vermont.
1:26.2	So we talk about all the hot button issues, obviously in the middle of this pandemic,
1:30.7	recording on August 6th on vaccines, vaccine hesitancy,
1:36.2	wearing masks, are we going to have to socially isolate again? What does the science tell
1:39.6	us about the delta variant and vaccines and how to talk to somebody who's vaccine
1:45.5	hesitant. Much of the conversation is centered around these
1:49.0	hot button current issues, but we also cover GMO hesitancy or denial and other, let's say,
1:58.6	liberal denial of science.
	...

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