In the workplace, social science is still very much a science.
But what do you do when the evidence for a hypothesis is mixed?
How can we test it?
We know that social science can’t make predictions, but can at least help us to think through questions and questions can be answered, say social scientists Daniel Addams and Anne Akerlof, whose research into how people behave in the world can be used to illuminate the complexities of inequality.
Their work is published in the journal Sociology of Science.
In their book, Inequality and the Human Condition: An Introduction to Sociology, they describe how to test the power of social science in this arena and how we can learn from its work.
The book is not just a primer on the basics of social psychology, but also a primer for those interested in developing their own theories of inequality, and their conclusions are applicable across disciplines.
It also gives us some tools to take on the challenge of challenging the stereotypes that are being perpetuated about us in the workforce and in society.
We will use a mixture of techniques to examine the nature of inequality in this area, and explore how our social scientists can apply their findings to the workplace.