It appears that while the American public generally loves scientists and science they do not always love the conclusions scientists draw. And the scientists themselves blame the media and public at large for not assessing the acheivements and reach of the their work more positively. Here is a quick blurb about it from Ars Technica:
In recent decades, the US has had an ambiguous relationship with science. In the abstract, scientists are considered trusted, valuable members of society, but when it comes to specific areas of science that the public is uncomfortable with (such as evolution), a sizable fraction of the public is willing to believe that the scientific community is engaged in a nefarious plot to deceive them. That strange gap in perception hasn’t gone away, based on results from surveys of scientists and the public performed by the Pew Research Center.
Here is the opening few lines of the Pew Research Center’s own publication:
Americans like science. Overwhelming majorities say that science has had a positive effect on society and that science has made life easier for most people. Most also say that government investments in science, as well as engineering and technology, pay off in the long run.
And scientists are very highly rated compared with members of other professions: Only members of the military and teachers are more likely to be viewed as contributing a lot to society’s well-being.
However, the public has a far less positive view of the global standing of U.S. science than do scientists themselves. Just 17% of the public thinks that U.S. scientific achievements rate as the best in the world.
A survey of more than 2,500 scientists, conducted in collaboration with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), finds that nearly half (49%) rate U.S. scientific achievements as the best in the world.
When asked about their own scientific specialty, about the same share of scientists (45%) rate U.S. scientific achievements the best in the world.
See the whole report: http://people-press.org/report/?pageid=1546
Gordon Carlson is a graduate student at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is pursuing a PhD in New Media Communication. His work focuses on the role of technology in communication. Gordon's dissertation work looks at improving edutainment across various media. 