This study compares two frequently used operationalizations of understanding: factual knowledge and perceived familiarity. The authors argue that these measurements--which have been used interchangeably in past research--are conceptually distinct and should be treated as such. Using hierarchical...

Over the past two decades, newly emerging infectious diseases have developed into major global health concerns, sparking intense media coverage, and triggering fears of a global outbreak among public health experts and authorities. This article focuses on trends in American attitudes toward...

Research on public attitudes toward controversial science seem to be divided between a camp that relies on a ‘scientific literacy model', which states that increase in public knowledge of science is related to increase in public support, and a camp contending that the ‘miserly' public will...

This study examines risk perceptions toward nuclear power before and after the Fukushima Daiichi disaster using nationally representative survey samples of American adults.

This study uses the contemporary debate over agricultural biotechnology to conceptualize a theoretical model that can be used to explain how citizens reach judgments across a range of science and technology controversies. We report findings from a mail survey of New York State residents that...