fidence in those who run science than any other 

 age group. (However, the data suggest that 

 education is more important than age as a 

 predictor of confidence in scientists.) According 

 to Harris Poll data, gathered from a national 

 sample of college students in the spring of 1965, 

 the scientific community was accorded more 

 confidence than any other institution. In a 

 national survey of youth in 1968, Yankelovich 

 found that 88 percent of college students agreed 

 that "the problem is not technology— it's what 

 society does with technology." Those with low 

 incomes or with low occupational prestige 

 ratings were found to have relatively low 

 confidence in scientific leaders. These results 

 are highly consistent with both Science In- 

 dicators and Funkhouser. 



Finally, the authors point to complexities and 

 inconsistencies in attitudes toward science and 

 technology, even within the same individual. 

 Many people approve of science for its 

 usefulness, but a much smaller number under- 

 stand or appreciate it as a search for knowledge. 

 In both groups, a significant minority feel 

 highly threatened by science." In the case of 

 technology, it is not unusual to find the same 

 person expressing both pro- and anti- 

 technology sentiments. These considerations 

 suggest that much more information is needed 

 in this area, and much care must be taken not to 

 oversimplify when interpreting public at- 

 titudes. 



THE CALIFORNIA POLL 



In connection with the public's ranking of 

 various professions, mention should also be 

 made of the California Poll, based on the 

 population of that State, which found that 

 "research scientists" were the only group in 

 which more than one-half of the public ex- 

 pressed a "lot of confidence" in both 1973 and 

 1975. 12 In this case, scientists even ranked 



ahead of physicians. On the other hand, in 

 almost every case in which a statistically 

 significant change occurred between 1973 and 

 1975 in the way the public regards a particular 

 institution, that institution suffered a loss of 

 public confidence. Thus one finds here the same 

 loss of confidence in institutions in general that 

 was recorded by Louis Harris and NORC. At the 

 same time, scientists did very well in relative 

 terms. 



AHLGREN AND WALBERG 



High school students are entitled to be 

 considered a "public" in their own right. As was 

 stated in Chapter 4, many respondents to our 

 letter inquiry were concerned that these people 

 are losing interest in science, so that they will 

 not wish to enter this field and thereby keep up 

 the supply of research personnel. It is in- 

 teresting, therefore, to look at the studies that 

 have been performed recently on the attitudes of 

 adolescents. One such study was reported by 

 Alhgren and Walberg." 



Besides presenting their own work, these 

 authors briefly review the preceding studies in 

 this area, beginning with the classic study by 

 Mead and Metraux in 1957. 14 There it was found 

 that the scientist was perceived as being 

 essential to our national life for the wonders he 

 can produce. On the other hand, though he is 

 brilliant, he is indifferent both to the world 

 outside his laboratory and to any personal re- 

 lationships. His work is dull and monotonous, 

 and so is he. Ahlgren and Walberg, in their own 

 survey, asked 96 high school physics students 



11 This is based nn a secondary analysis of the 1957 SRC 

 data. 



12 The California Poll, Field Research Corporation, Release 



#858. Thursday. May 29, 1975. 



"Data for this study, originally collected by the Field 

 Research Corporation, were provided by the University 

 of California State Data Program. Berkeley. These 

 organizations are not responsible for the analysis and 

 interpretation of data appearing here." 

 " Andrew Ahlgren and Herbert J. Walberg. "Changing 

 Attitudes towards Science among Adolescents," Nature. 

 Vol. 245, (September 28, 1973). pp. 187-190. 

 " Margaret Mead and Rhoda Metraux. "Image of the 

 Scientist among High-School Students: A Pilot Study", 

 Science, Vol. 126, No. 3270 (August 30, 1957), pp. 384-390. 



CONFIDENCE IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 



87 



