Acceptance and knowledge of evolutionary theory among third-year university students in Spain

The theory of evolution is one of the greatest scientific achievements in the intellectual history of humankind, yet it is still contentious within certain social groups. Despite being as robust and evidence-based as any other notable scientific theory, some people show a strong reluctance to accept it. In this study, we used the Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) and Knowledge of Evolution Exam (KEE) questionnaires with university students from four academic degree programs (Chemistry, English, History, and Biology) of ten universities from Spain to measure, respectively, acceptance and knowledge of evolutionary theory among third-year undergraduate students (nMATE = 978; nKEE = 981). Results show that acceptance of evolution is relatively high (87.2%), whereas knowledge of the theory is moderate (5.4 out of 10) although there are differences across degrees (Biology>Chemistry>History>English), and even among various universities (ranging from 4.71 to 5.81). Statistical analysis reveals that knowledge of evolutionary theory among Biology students is partially explained by the relative weight of evolutionary themes within the curriculum, suggesting that an increase in the number of hours dedicated to this topic could have a direct influence on students’ knowledge of it. We also found that religion may have a significant—although relatively small—negative influence on evolutionary theory acceptance. The moderate knowledge of evolution in our undergraduate students, together with the potential problem of acceptance in certain groups, suggests the need for a revision of the evolutionary concepts in the teaching curricula of our students since primary school.


The theory of evolution is incapable of being scientifically tested.
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The theory of evolution is based on speculation and not valid scientific observation and testing.
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Strongly disagree
Disagree Undecided Agree Strongly agree 12.

Most scientists accept evolutionary theory to be a scientifically valid theory.
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Evolution is not a scientifically valid theory.
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Strongly disagree
Disagree Undecided Agree Strongly agree 18.

The age of the earth is at least 4 billions years.
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The theory of evolution cannot be corrected since it disagrees with the Biblical account of creation.
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Strongly disagree
Disagree Undecided Agree Strongly agree 22.

Humans exist today in essentially the same form in which they always have.
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Strongly disagree
Disagree Undecided Agree Strongly agree 23.

Evolutionary theory is supported by factual historical and laboratory data.
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Evolution is a scientifically valid theory.
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Strongly disagree
Disagree Undecided Agree Strongly agree 28.

Section II
Click on the right answer EVOLUTION SURVEY https://docs.google.com/forms/d/10hQhfO0xeP55TkRXIogrzuN1m...

21.
Which of the following observations helps to understand the theory of evolution?
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Artificial selection (selective enhancement) as an analogue of natural selection.
Comparative genomics, by comparing and quantifying the differences and similarities of DNA between species Vestigial structures that serve no apparent purpose.
Comparative embryology, where the evolutionary history of similar structures can often be followed.
All of the above evidences supports the theory of evolution.

Recently, resistance to a wide variety of insecticides has appeared in various species of insects. Why?
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Mutations are increasing
Humans alter the environment of these organisms and they evolve by natural selection.
New species are not evolving, only strains or varieties, it is not evolution by natural selection.
Humans improve their healthcare strategies and organisms try to keep up to date Insects are smarter than humans.

Which of the following cases would have a greater effectiveness in evolutionary terms?
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A very efficient lion capturing preys but without offspring.
A lion that has many offspring and 8 of them have become adults.
A lion that survived an illness and had 3 offspring.
A lion who had a harem of female lions and had only one offspring.
A lion that takes good care of its offspring and 3 of them have become adults.

How would a biologist explain why a species of bird has evolved a larger beak?
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Larger beak size appears by mutation in each member of the bird population.
The ancestors of this species found a new food source (larger seeds) and needed to develop better beaks to adapt to the new food.
Some members of the ancestral bird population had larger beaks than others, as the larger beaks were advantageous in the ancestral environment, they were able to leave more descendants so that the large beak character changed its frequency.
An ancestor of the species found bigger seeds and, trying to split them, the beak developed more. It transmitted this bigger beak to its descendants and with time to the whole population.
None of the previous ones.

Which of the following statements about natural selection is true?
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Natural selection causes variation to arise within a population.
All individuals in a population have the same probability of survival and reproduction. Survival depends on luck Natural selection occurs in those individuals in a population who are best adapted, surviving better and leaving more descendants.
Natural selection leads to extinction.
Natural selection allows the probability of survival of certain individuals to increase depending of the variation. Variation comes from outside the population.

33.
26. All organisms share the same genetic code; this circumstance is evidence that...

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Evolution is happening now. Convergent evolution has occurred.
Evolution occurs gradually.
All organisms are descended from a single ancestor.
Life began millions of years ago 34.

Which of the following statements regarding evolution by natural selection is FALSE?
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Natural selection acts on individuals.
Natural selection is a random process.
Very small selective effects can produce very large population changes during enough time.
Natural selection can cause the elimination of certain alleles in a population.
Mutation is the ultimate source of variation on which natural selection acts.

Which of the following statements about the relationship between evolution and natural selection is correct?
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Natural selection is a mechanism that can produce evolution.
Natural selection is a process that can produce small-scale changes in populations, while evolution produces large-scale changes.
Natural selection is a random process, while evolution produces changes in a given direction.
Natural selection is the differential survival of populations or groups, resulting in the evolution of individual organisms.
They are equivalent terms describing the same process. 38.