Sociological and psychological perspectives on decision making in Science Education Seminar

For students to become responsible citizens and critical consumers they need to be able and willing to transfer scientific knowledge into an everyday context, and use their knowledge to make rational judgements. Theories of Conceptual Change are helpful to explain students’ resistance to using new knowledge, and sociological and psychological theories (e.g. Bourdieu, Haidt, Gigerenzer, Kahnemann) throw doubt on purely rationalistic views about decision making. I will discuss these theories and their possible relevance for science curriculum design.