TSSI Survey
Table 2 shows the nine TSSI categories and their corresponding item means for the two student groups, ordered by smallest p-value. The criteria for alignment with the model (supportive of science) is a score between 3.51 and 5.00, whereas neutral to the model is between 2.51 and 3.50, and against the model (resistance to science) is between 1.00 and 2.50. Of the 60 items within the nine broad TSSI categories, 22 showed statistically significant differences between the Einstein and Pacific College students.
Table 2
TSSI category and item mean comparison between Einstein and Pacific College students
TSSI Category and Corresponding Items
|
Mean (SD)
|
P-value
|
|
Einstein students
(n = 122)
|
Pacific College students
(n = 48)
|
|
Epistemology: Science is a superior, exemplary form of knowledge that produces highly reliable and objective knowledge about the real world.
|
3.07b (0.64)
|
2.61b (0.71)
|
< .0001*
|
33. The methods of science are the most reliable source of true, factual knowledge.
|
3.66a (1.00)
|
2.81b (0.91)
|
< .0001*
|
34. Science is the best source of reliable knowledge.
|
3.75a (1.04)
|
2.90b (0.95)
|
< .0001*
|
17. Scientific knowledge is the most objective form of knowledge.
|
3.81a (1.00)
|
3.06b (1.14)
|
< .0001*
|
60. Scientific knowledge is the truest form of knowledge.
|
3.32b (1.10)
|
2.67b (1.23)
|
0.001*
|
46. The methods of science are objective.
|
3.48b (0.88)
|
3.13b (0.94)
|
0.02*
|
2. No source of knowledge provides absolute truth - not even science.R
|
3.50b (1.22)
|
3.83a (1.14)
|
0.1
|
29. We can be certain that scientific knowledge is reliable.
|
2.81b (1.05)
|
2.63b (1.16)
|
0.32
|
44. No form of knowledge - including science - can ever be completely objective.R
|
3.85a (0.97)
|
3.96a (0.92)
|
0.52
|
27. No form of knowledge can be completely certain - not even scientific knowledge.R
|
3.88a (1.09)
|
3.88a (1.12)
|
0.96
|
Public Health: The conquering of disease and physical affliction and the great advances in public health are made possible by science and will not continue without science.
|
3.93a (0.58)
|
3.49b (0.55)
|
< .0001*
|
8. Scientific knowledge is the single most important factor in the improvement of medicine and public health.
|
3.26b (1.26)
|
2.60b (1.20)
|
0.002*
|
9. Common sense contributes more to good health than does scientific knowledge.R
|
2.64b (1.00)
|
3.10b (0.93)
|
0.01*
|
58. Scientific knowledge contributes little to good health.R
|
1.52c (1.01)
|
1.92c (1.03)
|
0.02*
|
48. Scientific research makes important contributions to medicine and the improvement of public health.
|
4.62a (0.67)
|
4.38a (0.73)
|
0.04*
|
Emotion and Aesthetics: Scientists are often passionate about their work but the work of science best proceeds on the basis of objective reason and empiricism. There is a beauty to science. Indeed, “elegance” is often required of scientific ideas.
|
3.80a (0.50)
|
3.49b (0.49)
|
0.0004*
|
12. Scientific explanations tend to spoil the beauty of nature.R
|
1.50c (0.82)
|
2.13c (1.08)
|
0.001*
|
21. It is equally important for a person to have scientific knowledge and an appreciation for the arts.R
|
3.74a (1.10)
|
4.27a (0.94)
|
0.004*
|
36. Science can contribute to our appreciation and experience of beauty.
|
4.50a (0.76)
|
4.15a (0.62)
|
0.005*
|
1. Human emotion plays no part in the creation of scientific knowledge.R
|
2.07c (1.07)
|
1.77c (1.02)
|
0.1
|
Economy: Modern industrial, commercial, and information-based economies depend on the scientific developments for increasing production, wealth and general public welfare.
|
4.16a (0.42)
|
3.92a (0.41)
|
0.0008*
|
42. Science is our best source of useful knowledge.
|
3.69a (1.01)
|
2.79b (1.11)
|
< .0001*
|
22. The development of our natural resources, such as coal, gas, oil, solar energy, requires much more than scientific knowledge.R
|
3.62a (0.99)
|
3.96a (0.85)
|
0.04*
|
49. Developing new scientific knowledge is very important for keeping our country economically competitive in today's world.
|
4.41a (0.66)
|
4.15a (0.87)
|
0.06
|
25. There are many good things we can do today because of scientific knowledge.
|
4.70a (0.62)
|
4.50a (0.74)
|
0.08
|
51. Scientific knowledge is useful.
|
4.71a (0.60)
|
4.56a (0.62)
|
0.14
|
14. The strength of our national economy does not depend on scientific knowledge.R
|
1.83c (0.92)
|
2.04c (0.85)
|
0.17
|
31. The development of our natural resources, such as coal, gas, oil, solar energy, is dependent upon having adequate scientific knowledge.
|
4.33a (0.62)
|
4.15a (0.82)
|
0.17
|
20. Scientific knowledge is useful in keeping our national economy competitive in today's world.
|
4.17a (0.75)
|
4.06a (0.86)
|
0.41
|
41. Scientific knowledge is useful for only a few people.R
|
1.47c (0.63)
|
1.54c (0.80)
|
0.56
|
16. Science helps develop our natural resources such as coal, gas, oil, and solar energy.
|
4.49a (0.71)
|
4.50a (0.77)
|
0.95
|
Public Policy: Science acts in the public interest. Science should thus be supported by public funds, however, the science community is more than capable of policing scientific activity.
|
3.29b (0.36)
|
3.10b (0.38)
|
0.0027*
|
50. Scientific knowledge influences government decision making too much.R
|
2.06c (0.82)
|
2.83b (0.97)
|
< .0001*
|
6. Scientific research is generally very important.
|
4.61a (0.64)
|
4.25a (0.84)
|
0.01*
|
57. The government should not be in the business of using tax dollars to fund scientific research.R
|
1.59c (0.86)
|
1.96c (1.05)
|
0.02*
|
5. Scientific research is rarely dangerous to the public.
|
2.72b (1.04)
|
2.33c (1.12)
|
0.04*
|
10. Scientific research should be adequately funded by government.
|
4.58a (0.68)
|
4.38a (0.67)
|
0.07
|
45. Scientific research is economically and politically determined.R
|
3.98a (0.74)
|
3.75a (0.89)
|
0.08
|
28. Scientific research should be carefully regulated by law.R
|
3.57a (1.06)
|
3.69a (1.06)
|
0.52
|
26. Scientists should not be allowed to research anything they wish.R
|
2.79b (1.13)
|
2.71b (0.92)
|
0.64
|
18. Scientific research is often potentially dangerous to the public.R
|
2.75b (1.04)
|
2.75b (1.02)
|
0.98
|
19. There is little need for the legal regulation of scientific research.
|
1.71c (0.83)
|
1.71c (0.87)
|
0.99
|
Race and Gender: Science is an “equal opportunity employer.” Race, gender and other personal factors are irrelevant in science.
|
2.87b (0.95)
|
3.22b (1.09)
|
0.0395*
|
23. The scientific community is mostly dominated by men and is often unfriendly to women.R
|
3.35b (0.98)
|
2.92b (1.13)
|
0.01*
|
53. The scientific community is mostly dominated by white men and is often unfriendly to minority people.R
|
3.31b (1.07)
|
2.88b (1.21)
|
0.02*
|
30. African Americans and other minority people are just as welcome in the scientific community as are white people.
|
2.92b (1.31)
|
3.23b (1.49)
|
0.18
|
4. Women are welcome in science just as much as men are.
|
3.22b (1.38)
|
3.44b (1.43)
|
0.36
|
Environment and Resource: Science is necessary for the discovery, development, and conservation and protection of natural resources and the environment in general.
|
3.84a (0.58)
|
3.66a (0.70)
|
0.0981
|
43. Science can help us preserve our natural environment and natural resources.
|
4.40a (0.65)
|
4.10a (0.99)
|
0.06
|
59. Without science we will not be able to preserve our natural environment and natural resources.
|
4.02a (0.91)
|
3.65a (1.26)
|
0.07
|
38. Our natural environment would actually be helped by the absence of scientific knowledge.R
|
1.78c (0.96)
|
1.94c (0.91)
|
0.33
|
3. Scientific knowledge has often contributed to the destruction of our environment and natural resources.R
|
3.30b (1.20)
|
3.17b (1.39)
|
0.55
|
Science for All: The importance of science is such that it should be taught at all levels of schooling. Every citizen should have attained at least a minimal level of science literacy.
|
4.07a (0.56)
|
4.17a (0.52)
|
0.2918
|
13. Students should not be forced to take science courses at the university.R
|
2.20c (1.18)
|
1.65c (0.84)
|
0.001*
|
55. Even at the university level all students should study at least some science.
|
3.84a (1.02)
|
4.31a (0.85)
|
0.01*
|
54. Most people really do not need to know very much science.R
|
2.34c (1.04)
|
2.04c (0.92)
|
0.08
|
37. Only a very few people really understand science.R
|
2.43c (0.99)
|
2.73b (1.14)
|
0.1
|
15. Science should not be made an important subject for the elementary school grades.R
|
1.40c (0.92)
|
1.56c (1.03)
|
0.32
|
52. All students should study science during the secondary school grade levels.
|
4.45a (0.74)
|
4.35a (0.84)
|
0.46
|
56. Science should be taught at all school grade levels.
|
4.22a (0.97)
|
4.33a (0.81)
|
0.49
|
24. Understanding science is a good thing for everyone.
|
4.42a (0.75)
|
4.33a (0.91)
|
0.52
|
Religion and Morality: People make moral choices about the use of scientific findings but science itself is morally neutral. Science is also neutral with regard to religion. The importance of science, however, is such that science must be protected from the intrusive activities of some religions.
|
2.68b (0.72)
|
2.60b (0.54)
|
0.5211
|
11. Science is a more important source of knowledge than religion.
|
3.61a (1.26)
|
3.19b (1.27)
|
0.053
|
32. Religious knowledge contributes more to the well being of a person's life than does science.R
|
2.43c (0.98)
|
2.67b (0.95)
|
0.15
|
47. Scientific knowledge tends to erode spiritual values.
|
2.33c (0.93)
|
2.50c (1.07)
|
0.3
|
7. A person can be both religious and scientific.R
|
4.34a (0.87)
|
4.48a (0.74)
|
0.33
|
39. Religion and science are almost always at odds with each other.
|
2.25c (1.10)
|
2.35c (1.04)
|
0.59
|
35. Scientific research is morally neutral.
|
2.56b (1.08)
|
2.58b (1.11)
|
0.91
|
40. Religion tends to impede scientific progress.
|
2.77b (1.25)
|
2.75b (1.08)
|
0.92
|
R Negatively worded statement—means were not reversed. |
a Align with the model |
b Neutral to the model |
c Reject the model |
* p < 0.05 |
Figure 1 visually depicts the data in Table 2. The pale grey shaded area is the neutral range. The area above the neutral range represents scores that are consistent with the model (greater sociocultural support for science), and below as inconsistent with the model. From this figure, it is evident that neither group is ‘anti-science’ in any of the TSSI categories, with the majority of scores being above neutral or on the positive end of the neutral range. The nine categories and their items will be discussed in more detail below, by order of the category with the greatest statistically significant difference between the student groups.
Epistemology Category (“Science is a superior, exemplary form of knowledge that produces highly reliable and objective knowledge about the real world.”13)
In the Epistemology category Einstein students were neutral (M = 3.07, SD = 0.64), and Pacific College students were barely neutral (M = 2.61, SD = 0.71), scoring significantly lower than the Einstein students (p-value < .0001). In five of nine items in the Epistemology category the two groups showed significant differences (Table 2), and Einstein students scored higher on all five of these items.
Public Health Category (“The conquering of disease and physical affliction and the great advances in public health are made possible by science and will not continue without science.”13)
In the Public Health category Einstein students showed a significantly greater level of agreement (M = 3.93, SD = 0.58), compared to Pacific College students who bordered the upper neutral zone (M = 3.49, SD = 0.55; p-value < .0001). The students exhibited significant differences in all four Public Health items (Table 2).
Emotion and Aesthetics Category (“Scientists are often passionate about their work but the work of science best proceeds on the basis of objective reason and empiricism. There is a beauty to science. Indeed, “elegance” is often required of scientific ideas.”13)
In the Emotion and Aesthetics category Einstein students scored above the neutral zone with a mean of 3.80 (SD = 0.50), whereas Pacific College students were neutral with a mean of 3.49 (SD = 0.49), and the difference was significantly different (p-value = 0.0004). Among the four items in this category, three were significantly different (Table 2).
Economy Category (“Modern industrial, commercial, and information-based economies depend on the scientific developments for increasing production, wealth and general public welfare.”13)
Both groups aligned with the model (Einstein M = 4.16, SD = 0.42, Pacific College M = 3.92, SD = 0.41), although the difference was significant (p-value = 0.0008). This is the highest ranked category for the Einstein students and the second highest ranked for the Pacific College students. Two out of the 10 items in this category showed significant differences between the two groups (Table 2).
Public Policy Category (“Science acts in the public interest. Science should thus be supported by public funds, however, the science community is more than capable of policing scientific activity.”13)
In the Public Policy category both groups were neutral (Einstein M = 3.29, SD = 0.36, Pacific College M = 3.10, SD = 0.38), although Einstein students scored significantly higher (p-value = 0.0027). Among the 10 items in this category, four were significantly different between the two student groups (Table 2).
Race and Gender Category (“Science is an “equal opportunity employer.” Race, gender and other personal factors are irrelevant in science.”13)
Although both groups scored in the neutral range in this category, Einstein students fell on the negative side of neutral (M = 2.87, SD = 0.95), and Pacific College students fell on the positive side of neutral (M = 3.22, SD = 1.09). These differences were statistically significant (p-value = 0.0395). Two out of the four items were significantly different (Table 2).
Environment and Resource Category (“Science is necessary for the discovery, development, and conservation and protection of natural resources and the environment in general.”13)
In the Environment and Resource category both groups scored above the neutral range (Einstein M = 3.84, SD = 0.58, Pacific College M = 3.66, SD = 0.70), and there was no significant difference between the two groups for the category mean (p-value = 0.0981) or the four item means.
Science for All Category (“Science for All: The importance of science is such that it should be taught at all levels of schooling. Every citizen should have attained at least a minimal level of science literacy.”13)
In the Science for All category both groups scored above the neutral range (Einstein M = 4.07, SD = 0.56, Pacific College M = 4.17, SD = 0.52). The difference between the mean scores for the two groups was not significantly different (p-value = 0.2918).
Religion and Morality Category (“People make moral choices about the use of scientific findings but science itself is morally neutral. Science is also neutral with regard to religion. The importance of science, however, is such that science must be protected from the intrusive activities of some religions.”13)
In the Religion and Morality category both groups scored in the negative range of neutral, with a mean of 2.68 (SD = 0.72) for Einstein and 2.60 (SD = 0.54) for Pacific College. The mean difference for the category, and for all of the seven items was not significantly different between the two student groups (p-value = 0.5211).