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Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) Institute for Advanced Study (IAS)

Shaping Interfaces. Mind the gap: bringing science closer to improve public trust

Science rejection obstructs potential solutions to pressing societal and environmental challenges. For many, science represents a distant endeavor that is irrelevant to day-to-day life. This psychological distance to science is associated with science rejection across domains. Bringing science closer improves trust.
Date
1 June 2026
Time
12:30 -16:00
Room
Library

Science rejection obstructs potential solutions to pressing societal and environmental challenges. For many, science represents a distant endeavor that is irrelevant to day-to-day life. This psychological distance to science is associated with science rejection across domains. Bringing science closer improves trust.

Programme

12:30 Lunch in the IAS common room
13:00 Shaping interfaces: Reducing psychological distance to science
13:45 Q&A and Plenary Discussion
14:15 Bio/Coffee Break
14:30 Break-out Group Discussion – Question of the Day: How can the distance between science and the public be lastingly reduced?
Should there be limits to this endeavor?
15:30 Reconecting and wrap-up
16:00 Open space/co-working (optional)
17:00 End
Register About Shaping Interfaces Between Science and the Public
Bastiaan Rutjens

About the speaker

Bastiaan Rutjens is an associate professor at the Psychology Research Institute of the University of Amsterdam, where he runs the PsySci (Psychology of Science) lab. Bastiaan holds a PhD in Social Psychology (2012). His research interests are in social and cultural psychology, within which he focuses on the psychology of belief systems and worldviews.

Most of his research targets the psychology of science. From 2020-2025, his research was funded by an ERC starting grant. Bastiaan is an associate editor of Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin and a fellow of the Society of Experimental and Social Psychology (SESP) and the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP). Within the Psychology department, he is vice-chair of the Examinations Board and member of the Scientific Advisory Board.