‘A fiction author can do anything, we’re bound by the facts’: The risks and opportunities of taking advantage of cognitive biases in storytelling for science communication

TL;DR

This paper explores how science communicators use storytelling techniques based on cognitive biases, weighing the benefits against potential risks to scientific integrity.

Contribution

The paper introduces a thematic analysis of science communicators' perspectives on using cognitive biases in storytelling.

Findings

Science communicators already use cognitive biases in their storytelling practices.

Concerns were raised about tactics that could contradict science communication goals and harm audience welfare.

A thematic analysis maps the reported benefits and risks of using cognitive biases.

Abstract

Storytelling is a growing topic in science communication research, highlighting the importance of learning from existing storytelling research from other disciplines. Storytelling research in cultural evolution has identified a number of cognitive biases in how we transmit information: stories are remembered and passed on more faithfully when they contain social and survival information, negative information or counterintuitive information. In this article, we review this cultural evolution literature and present findings from a set of interviews with science communication professionals. We asked science communicators about the potential benefits and risks that may come about when using cognitive biases within science communication storytelling. Science communicators reported already using some cognitive biases in their practice. Participants also expressed concerns about some tactics that might contradict objectives of science communication, threaten the integrity of science and science communication and risk the welfare of audiences. We map the benefits and risks reported using a thematic analysis.

Figures