Abstract: The image of scientists among the public matters in many ways. By analyzing the dataset drawn from a sampling survey, this paper explores the stereotype of scientists in the mind of urban Chinese and its influencing factors. The result shows that the stereotype of scientists, characterized as “nerds” in pop culture, does exist commonly in Chinese peoples’ mind, more commonly than in American public‘s mind. Further analysis finds that knowledge about scientists, mass media such as TV and scientific fictions, and opportunities of personal contacts with scientists, are all important factors that influence such a stereotype. In the end of this paper, policy implications and future prospective research issues are discussed.

摘要： 科学家在公众头脑中的形象非常重要。基于一项以公众为对象的随机抽样调查数据，文章分析了我国公众头脑中的科学家形象的特点，以及影响这种印象的重要因素。分析结果发现：流行文化中塑造的关于科学家“书呆子”式的刻板印象普遍存在于我国公众头脑中，其刻板化程度明显高于美国等发达国家。多元线性回归分析显示，对科学家的了解程度，电视、科幻小说等大众媒体，以及与科学家的接触机会等因素，都是影响公众这种刻板印象程度的重要因素。文章最后讨论了这些发现的政策含义，并指出了未来研究的重要议题。