Research area 1: Mechanisms, networks and inequalities

Coordinators
Cyril Jayet
and Gianluca Manzo

The empirical study of social inequalities has been central to the scientific identity of GEMASS since its foundation. The analyses of educational inequalities and social mobility in several societies proposed by Raymond Boudon in L’Inégalité des chances in the early 1970s led other researchers in the laboratory to pursue the investigation of social stratification in a variety of directions. One of these was the repeated design (in 1974, 2009 and 2013) of original general population surveys on perceptions of inequality. Another has been to compare different education systems in OECD countries, and to develop new measures of inequality in educational opportunities. Finally, the study of social mobility was deepened through secondary analysis of public statistics data: analysis of the temporal evolution of intergenerational mobility and its links with educational expansion and democratization; highlighting the importance of social immobility at varying levels of occupational aggregation; and study of the evolution of career mobility.

The study of social inequalities is closely linked to the notion of mechanism, as Boudon proposed it in L’Inégalité des chances as the basic building block of an ambitious research strategy. A strategy that not only describes a macroscopic regularity, but also endeavors to formulate precise hypotheses on the complex sequence of actions, motives and interactions that may have gradually led to the emergence of the macroscopic regularity under scrutiny. Relying on innovative methods (such as agent-based computational models), various laboratory’s members have thus developed this strategy and elaborated formal models of the mechanisms generating different forms of inequality, such as inequalities in the distribution of diplomas, feelings of relative deprivation and prestige, or inequalities in gender and in the distribution of scientific production.

As the structure of interactions and their properties are a crucial ingredient of a mechanism for understanding the transition between microscopic and macroscopic levels, this work has gradually led GEMASS to devote increasing and specific attention to the analysis of social networks and their effects, whether in the context of diffusion studies or more descriptive research of different types of digital networks. The intuition that the notion of mechanism can help strengthen the explanatory side of sociology has also led several researchers to develop the strategy of generative mechanisms on the programmatic level, contributing to the international development of the intellectual movement known as analytical sociology.

The aim of the Mechanisms, Networks and Inequalities area is to federate and stimulate research on at least one of these three keywords, while emphasizing the heuristic fertility of their intersection. The area is intended to be theoretically pluralistic, but is particularly attentive to work with a strong explanatory ambition, based on the use of clear concepts and explicit, easily understandable hypotheses. The area is open to different methodological orientations, but is particularly keen to encourage innovative and rigorous methods of data collection and processing, whether quantitative or qualitative. It pays particular attention to the issues of replicability, transparency and openness of the data and methods used. This area is also closely linked to the Bachelor and Master programs in sociology of Sorbonne University, which offer several courses in analytical sociology, computational sociology, social network analysis and the sociology of social stratification.    

Research area 2: Science, beliefs and cognition

Coordinators
Gérald Bronner and Floriana Gargiulo

How are knowledge, beliefs and collective representations formed and circulated in societies?  To answer this classic question, the Sciences, Beliefs and Cognition area brings together different traditions in the study of science, and the sociology of beliefs and cognition. Using qualitative and quantitative approaches, it aims to produce a rigorous understanding of the social and cognitive processes that shape the circulation of knowledge and beliefs.

Particular attention is paid to the dynamics of production and dissemination of scientific knowledge at different scales, from laboratory practices to the major global transformations of the scientific community. Work focuses on major issues such as the public image of science, scientific integrity, open science, the rise of interdisciplinarity, the effects of emerging technologies (notably artificial intelligence) on research and information, and the geopolitical structure of global scientific networks. GEMASS members frequently take an interdisciplinary approach, combining sociology of science, data science and complex systems.

Drawing on the sociology of belief and cognitive psychology, this area also explores the dynamics of cognitive competition, attentional economics, the role of new communication technologies in the proliferation of unfounded beliefs, and institutional responses to misinformation. It focuses on the cognitive processes at work in the transmission of knowledge and beliefs. It analyzes cognitive biases, social learning mechanisms, the collective effects of misjudgment, and possible strategies for large-scale cognitive correction. In a context of rapid transformation of knowledge production and circulation regimes, marked both by informational hyperconnectivity and the weakening of epistemic and normative reference points, this area thus contributes to deciphering current tensions between scientific expertise, collective beliefs and opinion dynamics.

Research area 3: Norms, markets and health

Coordinators
Pierre
Demeulenaere
and Marie Trespeuch

The Norms, Markets and Health area  builds on the research unit’s ongoing work that combine economics and sociology, while also introducing an emerging theme: health.

Both economic sociology and institutional economics stress the importance of rules for organizing economic life. However, the question of how these rules are justified remains largely unexplored. This issue is examined from two perspectives. First, drawing on economic literature, the focus is on studying the normative positions taken by economists regarding the rules governing economic life, beyond the notion of the Pareto optimum (and its variants). The problem of negative externalities is also addressed, demonstrating that it extends beyond purely economic concerns. The other perspective examines more “ordinary” judgments on the norms to be adopted with regard to economic life, often informed by surveys on the subject.

The functioning of markets is also an important field of contemporary economic sociology. The work on reputation issues, particularly in the artistic, political and educational worlds, and their digital aspects with “e-reputation”, synthesizes  the existing literature and case studies. This enables to mobilize and apply this theoretical framework to identify the common mechanisms for constructing and managing the effects of reputation, whether positive, negative or ambivalent, and how these effects vary according to different social worlds and social positions. In addition, the sociology of markets is also addressing the growing digitization of professional practices and activities: the development of digital applications and platforms has complex effects on employment and social protection, especially for younger populations such as students.

The inclusion of health in this research area provides an opportunity to highlight the intersection of economic and normative issues related to healthcare practices. Decisions about treatments, drugs and medical interventions are often guided by economic factors, such as  healthcare costs and the profitability of investments in research and development. However, these decisions also raise significant moral and ethical questions, particularly regarding the equitable distribution of resources, patient autonomy, respect for privacy and medical decision-making at the end of life. These normative issues can be complex and controversial. Among ongoing research projects, gestational surrogacy is analyzed as a “contested market”. This method of medically assisted reproduction raises a significant number of ethical and legal debates, while also sparking transnational flows of people and capital. Another theme under investigation concerns expert patients, whose roles and mobilizations have been transformed by the advances in high-tech medicine. This research draws on collective studies of cancer and rare diseases, with a focus on genomics and how innovations might or might not transform the trajectories of patients and their families. The challenge is to understand how and under what conditions research innovations can become innovations in healthcare. Finally, the development of an innovative treatment for pediatric cancers via a cellular immunotherapy called CAR-T-cells therapy is analyzed, highlighting the role of the various players in the CAR-T-cell organizational chain (doctors, researchers, administrators, pharmaceutical companies, regulators, etc.). The study highlights the material, administrative, ethical, legal, and financial conditions surrounding this therapeutic innovation—initially for leukemia and later for solid tumors in French pediatric oncology.