Children still trust science, even after watching evil scientists on TV

Every child meets a scientist long before school – inside cartoons, comics, or superhero shows. The scientist might wear wild goggles, talk to robots, or laugh while lightning flashes behind them.

These stories shape how kids imagine science. But do they also shape how much children actually trust scientists?

A new study from The Ohio State University says not really. Kids still believe scientists are smart, honest, and kind, even when television paints some as villains. The research offers a fresh look at how storytelling meets real-world thinking.

How children see scientists

The study included 256 children aged 8 to 12 and their parents. Researchers asked the children to describe scientists and rate them for three traits: expertise, integrity, and benevolence.

Almost all of the respondents called scientists smart. Many saw them as capable and dependable.

“Our findings revealed some harmful effects of superhero television, yet those effects appeared weak and limited in scope. Even then, it is easy to mitigate that harm by removing associations between villainy and science. That’s good news,” noted study co-author Blue Lerner.

The research shows that even when the stories showed scientists behaving badly, children’s respect for real ones barely changed.

Heroes, villains, and science labels

To test their ideas, the researchers turned to the animated Disney series Marvel’s Spiderman. In one clip, a heroic female scientist used her knowledge for good. In another, a villainous female scientist did not.

Female characters were chosen for a reason. Most children imagine scientists as men. Seeing women in those roles can surprise them and challenge old assumptions. That surprise could also make their reactions stronger – positive or negative.

The twist came when the villain’s identity changed. In some versions of the video, the character was called a scientist and talked about her “experiments.”

In others, those details were edited out. When kids heard her labeled as a scientist, their trust dropped slightly. Without the label, their trust stayed high.

“Kids may not be identifying the villainous actions of the character as science unless it is explicitly labeled that way,” said study co-author James Alex Bonus. Even with the label, the decline was mild, not dramatic.

Why children react lightly

Children didn’t start thinking scientists were bad people. They just became a little less likely to call them “good.” That’s a small difference compared with the big trust they already held.

Lerner explained that kids are naturally optimistic about science. They see it as something that solves problems and answers questions. Because that belief runs deep, a cartoon can’t easily erase it.

The team also found that children who watched more superhero shows overall scored scientists slightly lower on kindness – but again, only slightly.

Old studies misunderstood

Many earlier studies asked children to draw what they thought a scientist looked like. Those drawings often showed crazy hair, bubbling potions, or lightning bolts.

Researchers once took that as proof that kids believed in the “mad scientist” stereotype. Bonus thinks that approach missed something.

“When you ask children directly, as we did in this study, it may allow them to evaluate scientists as a broader group,” he said.

“In other words, children may rely on stereotypical imagery when drawing scientists, but also recognize that such portrayals do not reflect all scientists.”

So, drawings may reflect memory, not belief. A child might sketch Doctor Octopus but still trust the person who studies space or cures diseases.

Fixing the script

The researchers discovered an easy way for writers to avoid confusion. If a villain’s actions don’t involve science, just skip the title “scientist.”

The plot stays the same, but the risk of negative influence disappears. “This minor change might reduce any negative influence on children’s perceptions of real-life scientists,” Bonus said.

Parents can help too. Talking about real scientists after a movie can balance the fantasy. Discussing why scientists study what they do helps kids connect stories to truth.

Children’s respect for scientists

Even with supervillains and exploding experiments on screen, children’s admiration for science holds strong. They view scientists as clever and curious, not dangerous or untrustworthy.

Superhero stories might color imagination, but they don’t rewrite reality. Kids can separate fiction from truth better than adults often assume. They know that the person saving the world in a lab coat probably isn’t trying to destroy it.

That sense of trust matters. It shapes how future generations engage with science, from climate change to medicine.

As long as stories keep exploring the wonders of discovery without painting scientists as the enemy, children will keep seeing science for what it truly is – a way to understand the world, not to conquer it.

The study is published in the Journal of Media Psychology.

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