When: Wednesday 13th November, 8:40am – 9:10am
Where: Theatre, Level 2 down the stairs to the right of the registration/foyer area
Hashtag: #T1

Two patients with the same condition decide to research possible treatments. They encounter multiple sources, from experts and others, each with different – sometimes contradictory – information. Depending on whom they believe and how they integrate these claims, the patients may make radically different decisions. These situations are commonplace in everyday life, from medical choices, to our voting decisions. How do we understand these differences, and support people in making the best decisions?

Epistemic cognition provides one lens onto this problem. Epistemic cognition is the study of how people think about the justification, source, complexity, and certainty of knowledge. When we evaluate evidence, think about where and when it applies, and connect claims to build models, we engage our epistemic cognition. Understanding how people navigate their own, and others’ knowledge is one of the most pressing social issues of our time in order to develop a sustainable society. I’ll draw on research in epistemic cognition, and my own research on how people search for and talk about evidence, to flag key implications of epistemic cognition research for science communication.

Session Producer

Isabelle Kingsley, PhD candidate, Science Communication, University of New South Wales

Invited Speaker

Dr Simon Knight, Lecturer, Faculty of Transdisciplinary Innovation, University of Technology Sydney