The Science of Social Influence

The Science of Social Influence

Author: Anthony R. Pratkanis

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 2011-02-25

Total Pages: 496

ISBN-13: 1136737030

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The contributions to this volume capture the thrill of current work on social influence, as well as providing a tutorial on the scientific and technical aspects of this research. The volume teaches the student to: Learn how to conduct lab, field and case research on social influence through example by leading researchers Find out about the latest discoveries including the status of research on social influence tactics, dissonance theory, conformity, and resistance to influence Discover how seemingly complex issues such as power, rumors, group and minority influence and norms can be investigated using the scientific method Apply knowledge to current influence campaigns to find out what works and what does not. The Science of Social Influence is the perfect core or complementary text for advanced undergraduate or graduate students in courses such as Attitudes and Attitude Change, Communications, Research Methods and, of course, Social Influence.


Theory and Progress in Social Science

Theory and Progress in Social Science

Author: James B. Rule

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1997-04-28

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 9780521574945

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This work, sequel to the author's Theories of Civil Violence, attacks questions that have long troubled social science and social scientists - questions of the cumulative nature of social inquiry. Does the knowledge generated by the study of social, political, and economic life grow more comprehensive over time? These questions go to the heart of social scientists' soul-searching as to whether they are indeed engaged in 'science'. The author pursues these questions through in-depth examination of various theoretical programs currently influential in social science, including feminist social science, rational choice theory, network analysis and others.


Rethinking Science, Technology, and Social Change

Rethinking Science, Technology, and Social Change

Author: Ralph Schroeder

Publisher:

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 202

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Rethinking Science, Technology, and Social Change challenges the prevailing notion that science and technology are constructed or socially shaped. The text puts forth a case for technological determinism, based on a realistic and pragmatic account of science and technology, informed by historical comparisons. Schroeder begins by exploring the social organization of scientific and technological advances; the intersecting trajectories of big science and technological systems; and the impact of science and technology on economic change. He goes on to discuss the social implications of technology, including the way that it affects politics and consumption. The book then rethinks traditional theories about the relationship between science, technology, and social change. The argument presented shifts the debate on topics such as the relationship between growth and sustainability, and thus has important policy implications. This book will be of great interest to scholars, scientists, and anyone interested in understanding how science and technology are transforming our world.


A Manifesto for Social Progress

A Manifesto for Social Progress

Author: Marc Fleurbaey

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2018-08-30

Total Pages: 251

ISBN-13: 1108424783

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Outlines how to rethink society's economic, political, and social institutions and actions to take to build better societies.


Creating a Learning Society

Creating a Learning Society

Author: Joseph E. Stiglitz

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2015-10-06

Total Pages: 427

ISBN-13: 0231540620

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

“A superb new understanding of the dynamic economy as a learning society, one that goes well beyond the usual treatment of education, training, and R&D.”—Robert Kuttner, author of The Stakes: 2020 and the Survival of American Democracy Since its publication Creating a Learning Society has served as an effective tool for those who advocate government policies to advance science and technology. It shows persuasively how enormous increases in our standard of living have been the result of learning how to learn, and it explains how advanced and developing countries alike can model a new learning economy on this example. Creating a Learning Society: Reader’s Edition uses accessible language to focus on the work’s central message and policy prescriptions. As the book makes clear, creating a learning society requires good governmental policy in trade, industry, intellectual property, and other important areas. The text’s central thesis—that every policy affects learning—is critical for governments unaware of the innovative ways they can propel their economies forward. “Profound and dazzling. In their new book, Joseph E. Stiglitz and Bruce C. Greenwald study the human wish to learn and our ability to learn and so uncover the processes that relate the institutions we devise and the accompanying processes that drive the production, dissemination, and use of knowledge . . . This is social science at its best.”—Partha Dasgupta, University of Cambridge “An impressive tour de force, from the theory of the firm all the way to long-term development, guided by the focus on knowledge and learning . . . This is an ambitious book with far-reaching policy implications.”—Giovanni Dosi, director, Institute of Economics, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna “[A] sweeping work of macroeconomic theory.”—Harvard Business Review


How Social Science Got Better

How Social Science Got Better

Author: Matt Grossmann

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2021-07-05

Total Pages: 353

ISBN-13: 0197518990

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

It seems like most of what we read about the academic social sciences in the mainstream media is negative. The field is facing mounting criticism, as canonical studies fail to replicate, questionable research practices abound, and researcher social and political biases come under fire. In response to these criticisms, Matt Grossmann, in How Social Science Got Better, provides a robust defense of the current state of the social sciences. Applying insights from the philosophy, history, and sociology of science and providing new data on research trends and scholarly views, he argues that, far from crisis, social science is undergoing an unparalleled renaissance of ever-broader understanding and application. According to Grossmann, social science research today has never been more relevant, rigorous, or self-reflective because scholars have a much better idea of their blind spots and biases. He highlights how scholars now closely analyze the impact of racial, gender, geographic, methodological, political, and ideological differences on research questions; how the incentives of academia influence our research practices; and how universal human desires to avoid uncomfortable truths and easily solve problems affect our conclusions. Though misaligned incentive structures of course remain, a messy, collective deliberation across the research community has shifted us into an unprecedented age of theoretical diversity, open and connected data, and public scholarship. Grossmann's wide-ranging account of current trends will necessarily force the academy's many critics to rethink their lazy critiques and instead acknowledge the path-breaking advances occurring in the social sciences today.


The Production of Knowledge

The Production of Knowledge

Author: Colin Elman

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2020-03-19

Total Pages: 569

ISBN-13: 1108486770

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A wide-ranging discussion of factors that impede the cumulation of knowledge in the social sciences, including problems of transparency, replication, and reliability. Rather than focusing on individual studies or methods, this book examines how collective institutions and practices have (often unintended) impacts on the production of knowledge.