Trusting but forgetting impressive science

Trust in science is associated with significant outcomes such as intent to vaccinate and belief in climate change. Around the globe, most people trust science at least to some extent. However, the causes of this trust aren’t well understood. Here we propose a 'rational impression' model of trust in science. In this model, people trust scientists because they are impressed by their findings, and this impression of trust persists even after knowledge of the specific content has vanished. We present evidence for this model in two experiments (total n = 696) with UK participants. In Experiment 1, impressive scientific findings lead participants to think of the scientists as more competent and their scientific discipline as more trustworthy. In Experiment 2, we show that participants have these impressions despite forgetting the content that generated them. The rational impression model can explain why people trust science without remembering much of it. It also stresses the relevance of science communication.