LIRA Lab

Ideological neglect of unwarranted trust in science - Theory and Society This paper highlights an ideological neglect in the scientific community’s study of trust in science. While science skepticism (e.g., science denial, anti-scientific conspiracy theories, belief in pseudoscience) has deservedly received vast attention, the opposite extreme - uncritical trust in science (scientism) - is largely overlooked. Scientism idealizes science as all-powerful, capable of establishing absolute truth and solving all problems, while simultaneously exhibiting an unwillingness to accept criticism of its limitations. Despite being notably under-researched, rare findings suggest scientistic beliefs share a similar cognitive footprint with anti-scientific beliefs, being positively related to dogmatism and negatively to cognitive reflection and general cognitive abilities. Outcomes of this uncritical trust include vulnerability to “scientific signaling”, i.e., to meaningless claims using quasi-scientific language or overestimating data value due to irrelevant illustrations or formulae. Furthermore, blind trust can lead to societal polarization, with those who uncritically trust science and scientists being prone to supporting punitive measures against science skeptics. This ideological neglect is potentially driven by scientists’ self-defensive motivations, despite recognizing its contradiction to science’s core principle of organized skepticism. An integral approach to studying trust in science is proposed, with epistemic and political implications. These suggest studying similarities between trust and distrust in science, and urging for critical engagement with science, acknowledging its entanglement with economic and political interests. Practical recommendations include thorough conceptual and empirical exploration of uncritical trust, moving beyond simplistic “trust us” messaging and ensuring scientific authority remains accountable and open to scrutiny.

We invite you to read their article 📖 “Ideological neglect of unwarranted trust in science” (2026) to learn more.

Avaliable on the link: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Among other points, they argue that blind trust in science may share cognitive patterns with anti-scientific beliefs and can fuel polarization and “scientific signaling.”

Thus, maybe the question we should pose is not whether, but ✨️how✨️ do we trust science.

Can we trust science a bit too much? 🤔

While science skepticism gets most of the attention, what about the opposite extreme - uncritical trust in science?

Our own @petarlukic.bsky.social and @iriszez.bsky.social just published a new paper in Theory and Society, tackling just this question! 📑

@lililazarevic.bsky.social
@petarlukic.bsky.social
@milicaninkovic.bsky.social

On the list, look up our own Ljiljana B. Lazarević, Maša Vukčević Marković, Marija Branković, Milica Ninković, Petar Lukić, Marko Živanović, and Sanda Stanković.

You can find out more about their work on our webpage, or even by connecting with some of them here, on Bluesky.

Not only that, but almost all of our researchers are among the top 10% of all ranked - six of them in total, to be precise.

We are exceptionally proud of them and their achievement! ✨️🫂👏

The full list is avaliable at: www.nitra.gov.rs/cir/nauka/iz...

We have great news! 🎉

The Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation has confirmed what we already knew (if we dare say so): all LIRA Lab researchers appointed to scientific ranks are on the preliminary list of the top 20% researchers across all scientific disciplines in Serbia!

The talk is part of an Interdisciplinary research seminar for 2026, organised by The Institute of sociological research.

Seminar is open to all, and the schedule for spring talks is already avaliable. Check it out here: www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...

Science affects individuals and societies, which is one of the many reason why in scientific research ethics are one of the non-negotiables.

Our own @lililazarevic.bsky.social will talk about ethical aspects in research, tomorrow, 6pm CET, at Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade.

Join us if you can!

What better day to talk about superstition than Friday the 13th?

Our own Prof. Dr. Goran Knežević will give a talk tomorrow at the Palace of Science in Belgrade on the psychology of superstition.

If you’re around, join us! The talk starts at 5:00 PM local time.

#Superstition #Psychology

At LIRA Lab, we are proud to work alongside brilliant women who research, teach, mentor, organize, publish, and build communities, often all at once.

We invite you to learn more about their work on our webpage! 🔗 Link in bio.

#WomenInScience #IDWGS #Psychology #Serbia

Today we mark the International Day of Women and Girls in Science 👩‍🔬

In Serbia, structural barriers in academia are still very real, so celebrating women in science also means recognizing resilience, solidarity, and everyday persistence.

#WomenInScience #IDWGS #Psychology

Glad to be here!

We are especially proud of our Early-Career Researcher Program!

• 54 undergrad and master students joined 19 research groups, and will continue their work in 2026.

🤍 To sum it all up, we’re excited to be here and to share more in the year ahead!

Stay tuned for more 💬

🎓🌱 We celebrated milestones

• 4 members completed their PhDs under senior mentorship from our Lab
• 17 PhD candidates are currently part of the Lab, at different stages of PhD paths

🏆 2 Master’s theses by our members received awards from Katarina Marić Fund and the Serbian Psychological Society.

📊 LIRA Lab in 2025

• 31 peer-reviewed publications
• 17 national and international research projects
• 44 research presentations at 9 international and 7 national conferences

🔍 Research visibility:
• 6,876 citations – per Google Scholar
• 2,433 citations – per Scopus
• 1,663 citations – per WoS

👋 Hello, world (that is, Bluesky community)!

This is our first post here, so we wanted to briefly introduce ourselves, and take the opportunity to share bits of what 2025 looked like for us.

It was an intense, somewhat unusual, and yet a deeply productive year for our team.

Lets get into it!