Acceptance and and use of scientific findings have been reported to face challenges that are attributable to inadequacies of science and/or society’s inadequate scientific literacy and attitude. In view of the dearth of studies on these issues in Nigeria, this study explored the levels and variations in the scientific literacy, attitude to science, and persuasiveness of scientific compared to cultural knowledge in some personal decision making contexts of postgraduate students in a Nigerian university. The study collected data through a designed and validated questionnaire administered on 315 postgraduate students in the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Findings among others are that attitude to science was very highly positive, religious information had slightly stronger persuasiveness in decision making for the students than scientific information, and much more than cultural information. Knowledge of scientific methodology, and critical thinking behavior have positive influence on students’ persuasiveness of science while cultural belief has negative predictive influence on their persuasiveness of science. The study concludes, amongst others, that students’ attitude to science and their persuasiveness of science can be influenced by their levels of knowledge of science methodology and cultural belief, though in an opposing manner. This implies that publics’ understandanding of the persuasiveness of science could be improved by variations in their levels of knowledge of science methodology and cultural belief, amongst other variables. The study therefore, recommends that scientists should begin to communicate science methods to the public through public-friendly and informal means while also subjecting some of the cultural beliefs to scientific tests and communicating their outcomes to the public.

据报道，接受和使用科学发现面临挑战，这些挑战归因于科学的不足和/或社会的科学素养和态度不足。鉴于尼日利亚缺乏对这些问题的研究，本研究探讨了尼日利亚大学研究生在某些个人决策背景下的科学素养、对科学的态度以及科学与文化知识的说服力的水平和差异。 . 该研究通过对尼日利亚伊巴丹大学的 315 名研究生进行设计和验证的问卷收集数据。其中的发现是，对科学的态度非常积极，宗教信息在学生决策中的说服力略强于科学信息，不仅仅是文化信息。科学方法论知识和批判性思维行为对学生的科学说服力有积极影响，而文化信仰对他们的科学说服力有消极预测影响。该研究得出的结论是，学生对科学的态度及其对科学的说服力可能会受到他们对科学方法论和文化信仰的了解程度的影响，尽管是以相反的方式。这意味着公众对科学说服力的理解可以通过改变他们对科学方法论和文化信仰的知识水平以及其他变量来提高。因此，该研究，