How Do Canadians Assess Indigenous Knowledge and Peer-Reviewed Science?

• In Event: Science, Technology, and Public Opinion

Abstract

Science is clearly a widely valued practice across the globe. Hoogeveen et al. (2022) provide global survey evidence that shows that, around the world, people are more likely to believe claims that emanate from scientists than from religious figures. However, in certain settler societies, such as Canada, Indigenous knowledge has become a highly valued part of the Canadian regulatory process. However, it is not entirely clear why or what is to be done when the substance of traditional knowledge and standard peer-reviewed science conflicts. Nor is it clear how reliable Canadians see Indigenous knowledge. This paper presents results from a survey that provides a baseline assessment of the Canadians’ assessment of the reliability of Indigenous knowledge set against peer-reviewed science. Moreover, it also presents results from a pre-registered survey experiment, drawing on the literature of directionally motivated reasoning and source credibility, to assess the degree to which evaluations of the reliability of types of knowledge (scientific versus Indigenous) are a product of prior attitudes. This evidence can be used to adjudicate whether Canadians are directionally or accuracy motivated.

Authors

• Erick Lachapelle, Universite de Montreal

• Talbot M Andrews, Cornell University

• Simon Kiss, Wilfrid Laurier University