Belief Updating when Individuals Are Confronted with Scientific Evidence

We aim at replicating the propositions that (1) a confrontation with scientific evidence (in this case, on the effects of acupuncture in the treatment of back pain) leads to a shift in topic-related beliefs that is congruent with the evidence at hand, and that (2) trust in science moderates how strong this shift will be. In addition, (3) we will investigate whether the above-mentioned moderator effect of trust in science is, in turn, affected by the quality of evidence presented. Finally, we will test (4) whether individuals with high trust in science are better at recognizing low-quality scientific evidence compared to individuals with lower trust in science, and whether (5) trust in science and scientific literacy positively correlate.