Question Wording: Trust in Scientists

Research by the Political Psychology Research Group at Stanford University

Introduction Fundamentals Who Should Take Action Government Policy Economic Side Effects Willingness to Pay Priority Consequences of Global Warming Preparing for Possible Consequences Consumer Choices Attitude Strength Voter Behavior Opinions in the States Trust in Scientists Scientists' Beliefs Partisan Views Publications

Below is the specific wording for each graphic on the “Trust in Scientists” page.

Graph: Percent of Americans Who Trusted What Scientists Said About the Environment At Least a Moderate Amount

(2006-2024) “How much do you trust the things that scientists say about the environment – completely, a lot, a moderate amount, a little, or not at all?”

Graph: Percent of Americans Who Percent of People Who Remembered Hearing or Reading About Emails Sent by Climate Scientists

(2010) “During the last six months, do you remember hearing or reading anything in the news about emails that were sent by scientists that study the world’s climate, or do you not remember hearing or reading anything in the news about that?”

Graph: What People Remembered About Those Emails

(2010) “What do you remember reading or hearing about that (the emails sent by climate scientists)?”

Graph: Percent of People Who Remembered Hearing or Reading about Mistakes in IPCC Reports

(2010) “During the last six months, do you remember hearing or reading anything in the news about mistakes in scientific reports that were written by the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, or do you not remember hearing or reading anything in the news about that?”

Graph: What People Remembered About Mistakes in IPCC Reports

(2010) “What do you remember reading or hearing about that (the mistakes in the IPCC reports)?”

Graph: What Emails Indicated to People That Remembered Hearing About E-mails by Climate Scientists in the News

(2010) “Do these emails indicate to you that scientists who study the world’s climate should be trusted, indicate to you that these scientists should not be trusted, or do they not indicate anything about whether these scientists should be trusted?”

Graph: What Mistakes in Reports Indicated to People That Remembered Hearing About Mistakes in IPCC Reports in the News

(2010) “Does what you read or heard about mistakes in these reports indicate to you that reports written by the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change should be trusted, indicate to you that these reports should not be trusted, or do not indicate anything to you about whether these reports should be trusted?”

Graph: Percent of Americans Who Thought That Scientists Reporting That Global Warming is Happening and is Caused by Humans Made Conclusions Based On…

Graph: Percent of Americans Who Thought That Scientists Reporting That Global Warming is Not Happening or is Not Caused by Humans Make Conclusions Based On…

(2012) [random half of respondents] “Do you think scientists who report that global warming is happening AND is caused by human activity make conclusions mainly on the basis of scientific evidence or mainly on the basis of their own economic or political interests?”

(2012) [other half of respondents] “Do you think scientists who report that global warming is NOT happening OR NOT caused by human activity make conclusions mainly on the basis of scientific evidence or mainly on the basis of their own economic or political interests?”