Factual accuracy and the cultural context of science in popular media: Perspectives of media makers, middle school students, and university students on an entertainment television program

Abstract

Popular media influences ideas about science constructed by the public. To sway media productions, public policy organizations have increasingly promoted use of science consultants. This study contributes to understanding the connection from science consultants to popular media to public outcomes. A science-based television series was examined for intended messages of the creator and consulting scientist, and received messages among middle school and non-science university students. The results suggest the consulting scientist missed an opportunity to influence the portrayal of the cultural contexts of science and that middle school students may be reading these aspects uncritically-a deficiency educators could potentially address. In contrast, all groups discussed the science content and practices of the show, indicating that scientific facts were salient to both media makers and audiences. This suggests popular media may influence the public knowledge of science, supporting concerns of scientists about the accuracy of fictional television and film.

Laughing With Science: The Influence of Audience Approval on Engagement

“…For example, recent work has documented the positive effects of exposure to humor on engagement with the climate change debate (Anderson & Becker, 2018; Becker & Anderson, 2019; Brewer & McKnight, 2015, 2017; Skurka et al, 2018) and the value of fictional entertainment programs like The Big Bang Theory in shaping views on the theory-driven and empirical nature of science (Li & Orthia, 2016). While the quality of the learning and scientific knowledge that can result from such popular portrayals of science is still an open research question (Szu et al, 2017), the reality remains that science entertainment content—and in particular humor that engages with scientific issues, themes, and representations of scientists—is an important tool for engaging citizens, and one that requires further study.…”

Open Science and the Science-Society Relationship

“…Prior research already showed that utilised channels, and consequentially also the effectiveness of information transition differ by individual characteristics, such as education (Chang et al 2017), gender, age (Lehmkuhl et al 2016), and religiosity (Scheufele et al 2009). Other studies illustrate that popular media not only transmit information about science, but also provide scientific education (Allgaier 2012;Szu et al 2016), narrow the knowledge gap in society (Chang et al 2017), and create various types of science perceptions and interpretations (Lörcher and Taddicken 2017).…”

“…Communication in the media is one of the most important tools for the improvement of science education of the general public (Maier et al 2014;Szu et al 2016). However, science education also serves as a prerequisite for effective communication.…”

Divine Dna? “Secular” and “Religious” Representations of Science in Nonfiction Science Television Programs

“…Representations that present science as a set of decontextualized and certain facts can lead to audiences accepting scientific knowledge as certain and not requiring critical discussion. Similarly, Evan Szu, Jonathan Osborne, and Alexiz Patterson () show that representations of science that omit the cultural context of science lead to understandings among viewers in which this cultural context is also absent.…”

“…Much research into television science has focused on fictional representations (Kirby , ; Ley, Jankowski, and Brewer ; Fisher and Cottingham ; Szu, Osborne, and Patterson ). Less attention has been paid to nonfictional representations.…”