Trust in science and scientists (TSS) is an increasingly important topic with respect to how science is applied within society. However, its role regarding specific issues may vary depending upon other psychosocial factors. In this study, we investigated how trust interacts with social attitudes and motivations to shape views on scientific issues in New Zealand (N = 8,199; 74.7% New Zealand European, 55.1% female). The study went beyond TSS by including broader institutional trust alongside measures relating to support for inequality, status quo preservation and fear of the unknown. We focused on their effects on three issues: vaccines, climate change and genetic technology (gene drive). Although TSS was strongly associated with lower vaccine skepticism (B = -0.497, p < 0.01), and moderate support for gene drive (B = 0.231, p < 0.01), it had no meaningful effect on climate skepticism. Furthermore, trust differentially mediated the relationship between social motivations and responses to all three issues. Trust in science and scientists is therefore unlikely to represent a one-size-fits-all variable. We conclude that future research should consider what effects trust in institutions and TSS have with social attitudes and motivations over a range of technologies across the sciences.

关于科学如何在社会中应用，对科学和科学家的信任 (TSS) 是一个越来越重要的话题。然而，它在特定问题上的作用可能因其他社会心理因素而异。在这项研究中，我们调查了信任如何与社会态度和动机相互作用以塑造新西兰对科学问题的看法（N = 8,199；74.7% 新西兰欧洲人，55.1% 女性）。该研究超越了 TSS，包括更广泛的机构信任以及与支持不平等、现状相关的措施保护和对未知的恐惧。我们关注它们对三个问题的影响：疫苗、气候变化和基因技术（基因驱动）。尽管 TSS 与较低的疫苗怀疑态度 (B = -0.497，p < 0.01) 和对基因驱动的适度支持 (B = 0.231，p < 0.01) 密切相关，但它对气候怀疑态度没有有意义的影响。此外，信任在社会动机和对所有三个问题的反应之间的关系中起着不同的调节作用。因此，对科学和科学家的信任不太可能代表一刀切的变量。我们的结论是，未来的研究应该考虑对机构和 TSS 的信任对跨科学领域的一系列技术的社会态度和动机有何影响。