Lay thinking

Consequences of media information uptake and deliberation: Focus groups’ symbolic coping with synthetic biology

by Wolfgang Wagner

Kronberger, N., Holtz, P., & Wagner, W. (2011). Consequences of media information uptake and deliberation: Focus groups’ symbolic coping with synthetic biology. Public Understanding of Science,. doi: 10.1177/0963662511400331

Whenever a new, potentially controversial technology enters public awareness, stakeholders suggest that education and... more Whenever a new, potentially controversial technology enters public awareness, stakeholders suggest that education and public engagement are needed to ensure public support. Both theoretical and empirical analyses suggest, however, that more information and more deliberation per se will not make people more supportive. Rather, taking into account the functions of public sense-making processes, attitude polarisation is to be expected. In a real-world experiment, this study on synthetic biology investigated the effect of information uptake and deliberation on opinion certainty and opinion valence in natural groups. The results suggest that (a) biotechnology represents an important anchor for sense-making processes of synthetic biology, that (b) real-world information uptake and deliberation make people feel more certain about their opinions, and that (c) group attitudes are likely to polarize over the course of deliberation if the issue is important to the groups.

Nettleton, S., Woods, B., Burrows, R. and Kerr, A. ‘Experiencing Food Allergy and Food Intolerance: An Analysis of Lay Accounts, Sociology, 44, 2, 289-305, 2010

by Roger Burrows

This article offers an analysis of 28 lay accounts of the experience of living with either food allergy or food... more This article offers an analysis of 28 lay accounts of the experience of living with either food allergy or food intolerance in England. We structure the presentation of our data in terms of Mike Bury’s three types of narrative form — contingent, moral and core. We suggest that people with food allergies at risk of acute, severe and potentially fatal symptoms on exposure to allergens find their condition to be less socially problematic than do those who suffer intolerances to certain foods, which can result in chronic, but not life-threatening, symptoms. Drawing on the extant literatures on the sociology of food and eating we propose a conceptualization in relation to notions of identity, anomie and communality that attempts to make sense of this finding.

Lay Theories of Causes of and Cures for Depression in a Turkish University Sample

by Dogan Kökdemir

Çırakoğlu, O.C., Kökdemir, D., & Demirutku, K. (2003). Lay theories of causes of and cures for depression in a Turkish university sample. Social Behavior and Personality, 31(8), 795-806.

This paper reports a study on university students' attributions for the causes of and cures for depression conducted... more This paper reports a study on university students' attributions for the causes of and cures for depression conducted in a Turkish sample. Results revealed six components for causes, which were trauma, job-related problems, loss, disposition, intimacy, and isolation. Seven components were found for cures, which were hobby, sensation seeking, avoidance, professional help, religious practices, esteem, and spiritual activities. Men rated religious practices as more useful than women did. No other differences pertaining to gender or previous contact were found. Results are discussed together with the limitations of the study.

Vernacular Science Knowledge: Its Role In Everyday Life Communication

by Wolfgang Wagner

Wagner, W. (2007). Vernacular science knowledge: its role in everyday life communication. Public Understanding of Science, 16(1), 7-22. doi: 10.1177/0963662506071785

This paper argues that our understanding of how the public understands science is incomplete as long as we do not... more This paper argues that our understanding of how the public understands science is incomplete as long as we do not answer the question of why, under which conditions, and in which form the general public assimilate scientific background knowledge. Everyday life and communication are governed by criteria of social efficiency and evidence. Under the conditions of everyday life, it is sufficient for the lay person to possess and employ metaphoric and iconic representations of scientific facts--called "vernacular science knowledge"--that are wrong in scientific terms, as long as they are able to serve as acceptable and legitimate belief systems in discourses with other lay people. These representations are tools for a purpose that follow local rules of communication. Research within the framework of Social Representation Theory--collective symbolic coping with biotechnology in Europe, lay understanding of sexual conception, as well as traditional versus modern psychiatric knowledge in India--is presented to illustrate.