Consequences of media information uptake and deliberation: focus groups' symbolic coping with synthetic biology

Public Understanding of Science
Nicole KronbergerWolfgang Wagner

Abstract

Whenever a new, potentially controversial technology enters public awareness, stakeholders suggest that education and public engagement are needed to ensure public support. Both theoretical and empirical analyses suggest, however, that more information and more deliberation per se will not make people more supportive. Rather, taking into account the functions of public sense-making processes, attitude polarisation is to be expected. In a real-world experiment, this study on synthetic biology investigated the effect of information uptake and deliberation on opinion certainty and opinion valence in natural groups. The results suggest (a) that biotechnology represents an important anchor for sense-making processes of synthetic biology, (b) that real-world information uptake and deliberation make people feel more certain about their opinions, and (c) that group attitudes are likely to polarise over the course of deliberation if the issue is important to the groups.

References

Nov 7, 2002·The British Journal of Social Psychology·Wolfgang WagnerFranz Seifert
Jul 5, 2005·Nature Reviews. Genetics·Steven A Benner, A Michael Sismour
Dec 18, 2007·BioEssays : News and Reviews in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology·Maureen A O'MalleyJane Calvert
Nov 13, 2008·Systems and Synthetic Biology·Markus SchmidtNikola Biller-Andorno
Oct 10, 2009·Systems and Synthetic Biology·Helge Torgersen
Oct 10, 2009·Systems and Synthetic Biology·Nicole KronbergerWolfgang Wagner

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Citations

Sep 24, 2015·Systems and Synthetic Biology·Martí DomínguezManuel Porcar
Jun 28, 2013·Futures·Helge Torgersen, Markus Schmidt
Feb 21, 2014·Public Understanding of Science·Afrodita MarcuJulie Barnett
Oct 21, 2015·Public Understanding of Science·Mirko AncillottiStefan Eriksson
Oct 6, 2017·Frontiers in Genetics·Christian IneichenAnna Deplazes-Zemp
Dec 1, 2015·Systems and Synthetic Biology·Johannes StarkbaumPeter Dabrock
Jun 16, 2018·Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education·Sara A Mehltretter DruryAmanda L Ingram

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