Trust.

It’s a small word that holds great importance.

If someone shares information with you or gives you some advice and you don’t trust that person, will you take what they say onboard?

Probably not.

That’s why trust in science is so important. If science is going to support society and help find pathways and solutions, then there must be trust in the science and the scientists. It’s also crucial that scientists take steps to build that trust.

There are many different ways scientists can build trust for themselves, their research, and science in general. One of those ways? The humble short, scientist biography.

The key, research from Samantha Hautea (Michigan State University) and fellow researchers suggests, is to create a biography that shows why you do what you do.

Yes, that list of papers and conferences you spoke at is lovely, but building trust isn’t just about showing you have skills and knowledge. It’s about showing benevolence - kindness, caring, and how you are doing good. In other words, tell people how your work will help, be that a community, society, the environment, an endangered species, or something else.

If you’re a scientist reading this and worrying that sharing your “prosocial motivations” (as Hautea and colleagues describe it) behind your work will impact how competent people think you are, fear not - it makes no difference.

What to read the research for yourself?

The research, published in the journal “Public Understanding of Science” is behind a paywall, but if you don’t have access, you can always contact the authors for a copy (click the little envelope next to Hyesun Choung’s name just below the paper’s title).

Hautea, S., Besley, J. C., & Choung, H. (2024). Communicating trust and trustworthiness through scientists’ biographies: Benevolence beliefs. Public Understanding of Science, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/09636625241228733