Research communications experts partner with Morgridge Institute

Intuition tells us that the more factual information one gathers on a controversial topic, the more likely one will reach the "correct" conclusion. But when it comes to controversial science - genetically modified foods, biofuels, and climate change, to name a few - the most informed people on the topics frequently have the most polarized views about their value or risk. Dietram Scheufele , a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of life sciences communication, studies the effects of this kind of "motivated reasoning," in which identical scientific facts can lead people to vastly different conclusions. It's an important principle, he says, in how science stakeholders should communicate complex research to the public. Scheufele and colleagues in the Department of Life Sciences Communication (LSC) are partnering with the Morgridge Institute for Research to take a deeper look at what works - and why - in engaging the public on science. Morgridge provides a unique proving ground for the topic: In partnership with the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, science outreach programs bring more than 30,000 participants to the Discovery Building each year. The team will develop research programs that measure the outcomes of different outreach activities, assess the effectiveness of different messaging techniques, and are able to design and test new strategies to engage people on hot-button research areas.