By Dr Craig Cormick

Incoming President ASC

Different people can have very different values and beliefs to your own. And as these values and beliefs govern people’s attitudes, it is important to understand them so that you can frame discussions from their point of view, and more successfully engage with them.

One of the core problems with science-based communication is that public and scientists’ opinions on issues are often far apart.

Scientific understandings of risk also tend to differ greatly from community understandings of risk, with a perception that one is based more on scientific data and one is based more on personal experience and emotions – which can lead to over-estimating or under-estimating risk.

This plenary workshop will look at the way different values are formed and how they influence trust, risk perception and receptiveness to different messages, and through participatory exercises, determine what practical paths can influence changes in people’s behaviours and attitudes.