Journal
PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF SCIENCE
Volume 29, Issue 3, Pages 270-288Publisher
SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD
DOI: 10.1177/0963662520902383
Keywords
credibility; epistemic trust; public understanding of science; replication; science communication; trust; trustworthiness
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In methodological and practical debates about replications in science, it is (often implicitly) assumed that replications will affect public trust in science. In this preregistered experiment (N = 484), we varied (a) whether a replication attempt was successful or not and (b) whether the replication was authored by the same, or another lab. Results showed that ratings of study credibility (e.g. evidence strength, eta(2)(P) = .15) and researcher trustworthiness (e.g. expertise, eta(2)(P) = .15) were rated higher upon learning of replication success, and lower in case of replication failure. The replication's author did not make a meaningful difference. Prior beliefs acted as covariate for ratings of credibility, but not trustworthiness, while epistemic beliefs regarding the certainty of knowledge were a covariate to both. Hence, laypeople seem to notice that successfully replicated results entail higher epistemic significance, while possibly not taking into account that replications should be conducted by other labs.
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