Division of Social Sciences

Do your friends make you fat?

Or keep you slender? According to research by James Fowler of Political Science, the short answer on both counts is “yes.” Cited as one of Foreign Policy’s “Top 100 Global Thinkers” and nicknamed “Jimmy Jam” by Stephen Colbert, Fowler is perhaps best known for his work on social networks and how our ties to other people influence all sorts of phenomena.

How does a language start?

What are its essential elements? MacArthur ‘genius’ grant winner Carol Padden – a Linguistics alumna now on the Communication faculty – is gaining new insights into these age-old conundrums from a language created in a small village in Israel's Negev Desert.

Can people change their ways?

Yes. But don’t bother preaching. Or outlawing. Neither will work – or not for long. Gerald Mackie of Political Science, founding co-director of the UC San Diego Center on Global Justice, says that when it comes to harmful social practices you must empower a community to change its norms.

Can you cure autism?

No. And while some argue that autism is not something to be cured at all, the general consensus is that it encompasses a spectrum of disorders, one end of which can be quite challenging. For 40 years, Laura Schreibman of Psychology has been dispelling myths about autism and helping both diagnosed children and their families.

The Division's contributions include:

Graduating nearly 50 percent of UC San Diego’s undergraduates

Developing one of the most effective behavioral treatments for autism

Studying the causes and impacts of terrorism

Connecting to the region through 500 community-based programs

Cleaning toxic waste along San Diego’s border

Exploring and harnessing the power of social contagion

Changing education of the deaf

Investigating the remarkable plasticity of the human brain

Monitoring elections and improving governance

Helping reduce harmful social practices

Preserving endangered languages

Saving world heritage sites for future generations

News and Events

Feb. 25

Begining at 3 p.m. in the Faculty Club, Economics Roundtable: "Housing Finance System After the Great Recession" with Devajyoti (Doc) Ghose of Freddie Mac.

Feb. 26

Meet Don Norman, founding chair of Cognitive Science and now director of the university's new Design Lab, at the next Social Sciences Supper Club. A tapas-and-wine reception begins at 5 p.m. in the UC San Diego Faculty Club. Stimulating conversation about design ("it's not what you think") follows the reception.

Claire Adida of Political Science and colleagues from Stanford and the Paris School of Economics offer some ideas in the Washington Post "Monkey Cage blog for getting past the "vicious circle of discrimination" in which French and Muslims seem to be stuck.

Nixie - wearable flying camera drone A team of developers that includes Cognitive Science alumna Jelena Jovanovic has won the $500,000 grand prize in Intel’s Make It Wearable challenge for their wrist-mounted camera drone called Nixie. The device can travel a fixed distance from its owner to take a photo or video of them, and then return. Images or video can instantly be shared with friends.

Dedicated to developing practical solutions for our nation’s most pressing problems: The Yankelovich Center for Social Science Research.

More News

Do your friends make you fat?

How does a language start?

Can people change their ways?

Can you cure autism?

The Science of Society: Research,
Teaching and Service in the Public Interest.

The Division's contributions include:

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Other Interdisciplinary Programs and Studies

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