Zoos and aquariums play an important role in conservation education. Through exhibits, programs, and other activities, they seek to communicate scientific information about endangered species, animal well-being, and the importance of maintaining wildlife and wild places. If visitors are to act on that information, they first need to regard zoos and museums as trustworthy. To what extent is this the case? Do members of the public regard these institutions as sources of trustworthy information and if so, on what basis are they being judged as such?

In a recently published study, we examined these questions through two nationally representative surveys that asked members of the US public to share their opinions on zoos and aquariums as sources of conservation knowledge. Results from these surveys show that trustworthiness is a complex, multidimensional concept. When deciding whether to trust information shared by zoos and aquariums, survey respondents took into account each of the five components of experience-based trust, asking themselves questions such as:

• Do zoos and aquariums have strategies to maximize safety for the animals living there? (Competence)
• Do zoos and aquariums share how they’re helping conserve species in the wild? (Reliability)
• Are zoos and aquariums sharing information about the welfare and wellbeing of their animals? (Sincerity)
• Are zoos and aquariums informing the public as to how they practice energy conservation? (Integrity); and
• Do zoos and aquariums care about the welfare and wellbeing of their animals, their visitors, and their staff? (Benevolence)

Let’s Put it to Work!

Our study shows that before accepting any particular information from zoos and aquariums, visitors first need to see evidence of institutional trustworthiness across all of the above criteria. As this suggests, in order to cultivate perceptions of trustworthiness, institutions need to pay attention to each of these criteria. To build experience-based trust, zoos and aquariums can:

• Provide Evidence of Competence — By describing the professionals involved in caring for animals, institutions can help audiences gain a sense of the expertise guiding their work;
• Provide Evidence of Reliability — By describing how they are working with external organizations and experts, institutions can show audiences that they are contributing to the much broader project of preserving wildlife and wild places all across the world;
• Provide Evidence of Integrity — By educating the public about a wide variety of environmental topics (for example, ways to mitigate climate change or to reduce pollution and the use of plastic), institutions can show that they are promoting conservation on the basis of unified scientific principles, thus increasing the credibility of their messaging;
• Provide Evidence of Benevolence — By describing how they treat animals, audiences, and workers, institutions can demonstrate their concern for creating a caring environment; and
• Provide Evidence of Sincerity — By being transparent about their activities, institutions can help convince visitors that they are sincere in their conservation-related goals.

About this Article

This research was conducted as part of STEM Matters: Investigating the Confluence of Visitor and Institutional Agendas is an independent research to practice collaborative research project made possible through National Science Foundation Grants #1612729 and #1612699. The authors are solely responsible for the content in this publication.

Photo by Patrick McGregor @ Unsplash