Information deficit model

In studies of the public understanding of science, the information deficit model (or simply deficit model) attributes public scepticism or hostility to science and technology to a lack of understanding, resulting from a lack of information. It is associated with a division between experts who have the information and non-experts who do not. The model implies that communication should focus on improving the transfer of information from experts to non-experts.

The original term ‘deficit model’ was coined in the 1980s by social scientists studying the public communication of science. The purpose of the phrase was not to introduce a new mode of science communication but rather it was to characterise a widely held belief that underlies much of what is carried out in the name of such activity.

There are two aspects to this belief. The first is the idea that public uncertainty and scepticism towards modern science including environmental issues and technology is caused primarily by a lack of sufficient knowledge about science and the relevant subjects. The second aspect relates to the idea that by providing the adequate information to overcome this lack of knowledge, also known as a ‘knowledge deficit’, the general public opinion will change and decide that the information provided on the environment and science as a whole is reliable and accurate.

Scientists are often heard to complain that the general public does not understand science, and that the public needs to be educated. In the deficit model scientists assume that there is a knowledge deficit that can be ‘fixed’ by giving the public more information: scientists often assume that “given the facts (whatever they are), the public will happily support new technologies.”

The deficit model, however, has been discredited by a wealth of literature that shows that simply giving more information to people does not necessarily change their views. This is partly because people want to feel that they have had their say (and have been heard) in any decision-making process, and partly because people make decisions based on a host of factors as well as the scientific ‘facts’. These factors include ethical and religious beliefs, in addition to culture, history and personal experience. This amounts to a kind of gut feeling, which scientific facts are unlikely to change. Put another way, people’s sense of risk extends beyond the purely scientific considerations of conventional risk analysis, and the deficit model marginalises these ‘externalities’. It is now widely accepted that the best alternative to deficit model thinking is to genuinely engage with the public and take these externalities into account.

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Wikipedia