The motivations behind science denial.

Across the world highly educated, science-literate parents are refusing to have their children vaccinated against contagious diseases. Decades of international, peer-reviewed climate science is being dismissed as institutional conspiracy. Activists troll and harass scientists who come to unfavourable conclusions in pet areas such as genome modification, childhood memory recall, chronic fatigue syndrome and even the hazards of smoking. And somewhat legitimising this behaviour are rising numbers of populist leaders who pour scorn on whichever science is inconvenient to their popularity. Science denial is tangible on a day-to-day basis and has measurable detriment to health and education. This article outlines the key research underpinning its ideological, psychological and pragmatic motivations.