The belief in scientific progress VS scientific skepticism: factor which determine attitudes of Russians towards scientific development

Abstract

Modern theories of innovations do not provide us with a reasonable explanation, why some groups are more sensitive to innovations than others. The ‘blind spot’ of current theories lies in the very mechanics of their work. Through the analysis of respondents’ attitudes to scientific progress, the article considers new ways of determining the groups of population which are sensitive to innovations. Three major factors definingpopulation’s treatment of scientific development are extracted basing on ‘Eurobarometer in Russia’ survey data.