This study examines the conflation of terms such as "knowledge" and "understanding" in peer-reviewed literature, and tests the hypothesis that little current research clearly distinguishes between importantly distinct epistemic states. Two sets of data are presented from papers published in the journal Public Understanding of Science. In the first set, the digital text analysis tool, Voyant, is used to analyze all papers published in 2014 for the use of epistemic success terms. In the second set of data, all papers published in Public Understanding of Science from 2010-2015 are systematically analyzed to identify instances in which epistemic states are empirically measured. The results indicate that epistemic success terms are inconsistently defined, and that measurement of understanding, in particular, is rarely achieved in public understanding of science studies. We suggest that more diligent attention to measuring understanding, as opposed to mere knowledge, will increase efficacy of scientific outreach and communication efforts.
Strategies for effectively communicating scientific findings to the public are an important and growing area of study. Recognizing that some complex subjects require recipients of information to take a more active role in constructing an understanding, we sought to determine whether it was possible to increase subjects' intellectual effort via "priming" methodologies. In particular, we asked whether subconsciously priming "intellectual virtues" (IVs) such as curiosity, perseverance, patience, and diligence might improve participants' effort and performance on various cognitive tasks. In the first experiment, we found no significant differences in either effort or understanding between IVprimed and neutrally-primed individuals across two different priming techniques. The second experiment measured the effect of IV priming on intellectual effort in simpler, shorter-duration puzzles and exploration activities; here we observed an effect, but given its low strength and short duration, we do not believe that priming of intellectual virtues is a promising strategy for science communication.
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