Social Sciences¶
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Systematic study of human collective life — behavior, institutions, power, exchange — using quantitative and interpretive methods together. The animating question is "how do humans actually behave in groups, and why?"
305 primes · 1,375 domain-specific abstractions across 9 domains in this group. Both layers draw on the same canonical roster; a domain's group is derived from it, never stored on an entity.
| Domain | Primes | Domain-specific |
|---|---|---|
| Behavioral Economics | 12 | 9 |
| Communication & Media Studies | 17 | 134 |
| Criminology & Forensic Studies | 1 | 4 |
| Economics & Finance | 123 | 556 |
| Gender Studies & Queer Theory | 0 | 7 |
| Political Science | 18 | 72 |
| Psychology & Behavioral Sciences | 79 | 423 |
| Public Administration & Policy | 6 | 19 |
| Sociology & Anthropology | 49 | 151 |
Behavioral Economics
The synthetic discipline that integrates psychological research into economic models of choice — documenting systematic departures from rational-agent predictions and proposing alternative models that accommodate cognitive biases, bounded rationality, and social preferences. Canonical traditions: Kahneman & Tversky, Thaler, Sunstein, behavioral finance, nudge theory.
See also: Economics & Finance, Psychology & Behavioral Sciences, Public Administration & Policy
12 primes
- Bounded Rationality
- Commitment Device
- Context-Dependent Preference
- Herding Behavior
- Information Cascade
- Loss Aversion
- Reference-Point Dependence
- Regulatory Capture
- Satisficing
- Sunk Cost and Irreversible Commitment
- Temporal Inconsistency and Preference Reversals
- Value Commensuration
9 domain-specific abstractions
- Behavioural design
- Contingent cooperator
- Denomination Effect
- Expenditure cascades
- Homo reciprocans
- Nudge Theory
- Present bias
- Quantal response equilibrium
- Uncertainty effect
Communication & Media Studies
The study of how messages are produced, transmitted, received, and interpreted — through interpersonal, organizational, mass, and digital media. Absorbs journalism (gatekeeping, framing, ethics of reporting) and media production theory. Canonical traditions: Shannon-Weaver, Lasswell, McLuhan, cultivation theory, agenda-setting, network-society theory (Castells).
See also: Linguistics & Semiotics, Sociology & Anthropology, Film & Media Production, Political Science
17 primes
- Boundary Disclosure Card
- Complete Enumeration
- Echo Chamber
- Gatekeeping
- Information Use License
- Inverted Pyramid
- Legacy Integration
- Narrative Persuasion
- Rashomon Effect
- Remediation
- Representational Modality
- Signal Inflation
- Spiral Of Silence In Publics
- Summary Substance Divergence
- Translation and Conceptual Bridging
- Turn Taking
- Vouched Anonymity
134 domain-specific abstractions
- 15 minutes of fame
- Access journalism
- Agenda Distortion
- Agenda-setting
- Algorithmic radicalization
- Alternative facts
- Anonymous Sourcing
- Asymmetric-Amplitude Error Correction
- Attitudinal Targeting
- B-roll
- Beat Reporting
- Bechdel test
- Behavioral Targeting
- Betteridge's Law of Headlines
- Bit Rate
- Brevity Code
- Burkean Pentad
- Channel Richness
- Cognitive Valence Theory
- Content Analysis
- Context Collapse
- Coordinated management of meaning
- Correction Burial
- Corrections Policy
- Cost per mille
- Cultivation Theory
- Cultural sensitivity
- Data colonialism
- Datafication
- Day in the Life
- Decision downloading
- Distributed switching
- Editorial Blind Spot
- Embargo
- Four-Sides Model
- Friis transmission equation
- Gatekeeping (communication)
- Generation Loss
- Geotargeting
- Goals–Plans–Action Theory
- Haptic communication
- Headline-Body Mismatch
- Hyperpersonal model
- If-by-Whiskey
- Image Decontextualization
- Information activism
- Information Manipulation Theory
- Informational listening
- Interconnection
- Intercultural Communication
- … and 84 more — see all
Criminology & Forensic Studies
The study of crime, criminal behavior, the institutions that respond to crime, and the scientific methods used to investigate it. Canonical traditions: classical and positivist criminology, routine activity theory, strain and labeling theories, forensic science (DNA, toxicology, digital forensics).
See also: Sociology & Anthropology, Psychology & Behavioral Sciences, Law & Governance
1 prime
4 domain-specific abstractions
Economics & Finance
The study of how agents allocate scarce resources under constraints, and of the institutions (markets, firms, currencies) that emerge from that allocation. Canonical traditions: classical and neoclassical economics, macroeconomics, microeconomics, monetary theory, financial theory, game theory.
See also: Mathematics (optimization), Political Science, Psychology & Behavioral Sciences (via Behavioral Economics), Organizational & Management Science
123 primes
- Access Friction
- Adverse Selection
- Agency Problem
- Anti-Commons Tragedy
- Anti-Coordination Game
- Anticipatory Neutralization
- Antifragility
- Arbitrage (Finance)
- Auction Theory
- Bargaining Power
- Black Swan (High-Impact, Low-Probability Events)
- Common Knowledge
- Common-Medium Intermediation
- Comparative Advantage
- Comparative Statics
- Conditional Access
- Cooperation
- Cost–Benefit Analysis
- Creative Destruction
- Credible Commitment
- Crowding Out
- Deadweight Loss
- Demand
- Diminishing Returns (Law of)
- Discounting (Present Value)
- Diseconomies of Scale
- Distributional Effects
- Diversification
- Division of Labor
- Economies of Scale
- Economies Of Scope
- Efficiency Rebound
- Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH)
- Elasticity
- Evolutionarily Stable Strategy
- Exchange
- Expected Utility
- Externality
- First Mover Advantage
- Free Riding
- Frictionless Benchmark Reasoning
- Fungibility
- Gains from Trade
- Goodhart's Law
- Gresham's Law
- Incentive
- Incentive Compatibility
- Incomplete Contract
- Increasing Returns
- Indifference Curves
- … and 73 more — see all
556 domain-specific abstractions
- Absence rate
- Absolute Advantage
- Absolute income hypothesis
- Abstract economy
- Accelerator Effect
- Additionality
- AD–AS Model
- Agflation
- Aggregate Demand
- Aggregate Supply
- Alchian–Allen Effect
- Allais Paradox
- Allocative efficiency
- Ambiguity Aversion
- Amoroso–Robinson Relation
- Applied general equilibrium
- Arc elasticity
- Arrow's Impossibility Theorem
- Arrow–Debreu exchange market
- Arrow–Debreu Model
- Assurance Game
- Asynchrony (game theory)
- Atkinson index
- Auction
- Austerity
- Autoregressive Conditional Duration
- Average variable cost
- Balance of payments
- Balance-Sheet Recession
- Balassa-Samuelson Effect
- Bank Run
- Banzhaf power index
- Barrier to Entry
- Basis-Risk Failure
- Baumol's Cost Disease
- Baxter's Law
- Bayes Correlated Equilibrium
- Bayesian Nash Equilibrium
- Bayesian Persuasion
- Beauty Contest Game
- Bertrand competition
- Bertrand Paradox (Economics)
- Bertrand–Edgeworth model
- Beta (finance)
- Black–Scholes Model
- Boltzmann Fair Division
- Border's theorem
- Breusch–Godfrey test
- Breusch–Pagan test
- Budget-balanced mechanism
- … and 506 more — see all
Gender Studies & Queer Theory
The interdisciplinary study of gender and sexuality as social constructions, power relations, and analytic categories — including feminist theory, queer theory, and intersectional analysis. Canonical traditions: Beauvoir, Butler, bell hooks, Crenshaw, Sedgwick, Foucault's history of sexuality.
See also: Sociology & Anthropology, Cultural Studies, Philosophy, Literature & Literary Theory, Political Science
7 domain-specific abstractions
- Both/and reasoning
- Feminist method
- Feminist post-structuralist discourse analysis
- Femmephobia
- Heteronormativity
- Petrie multiplier
- Whisper Network
Political Science
The systematic study of politics — power, government, elections, public policy, political behavior, political theory, and international relations. Canonical traditions: comparative politics, political economy, public choice theory, international relations theory, democratic theory.
See also: Law & Governance, Public Administration & Policy, Sociology & Anthropology, History & Historiography, Economics & Finance, Philosophy
18 primes
- Accountability
- Brinkmanship
- Compromise
- Critical Juncture
- Escalation Dominance
- Innovation Sandbox
- Legibility
- Legitimacy
- Local Autonomy & Tiered Escalation
- Manufactured Dependency for Role Capture
- No One Is Above the Rules
- Preference Falsification
- Proximity Capture
- Regime Change
- Separation of Powers
- Severed Accountability Via Unearned Revenue
- Sovereignty
- Transparency
72 domain-specific abstractions
- Accelerationism
- Agenda Building
- Alabama Paradox
- Anti-patriotism
- Apportionment Paradox
- Asymmetric federalism
- Balance of Threat
- Ballot Exhaustion
- Ballot-Order Effect
- Budget-maximizing model
- Cartel party theory
- Causal Map
- Collateral-Damage Blowback
- Commander's-Intent Ambiguity
- Common-Operating-Picture Breakdown
- Compound-Hazard Stacking
- Condorcet's Jury Theorem
- Cordon sanitaire (politics)
- Corruption
- Countback
- Decoy list
- Delegative democracy
- Demobilization
- Democratic consolidation
- Democratic transition
- Demoicracy
- Digital authoritarianism
- Dissent
- Dog whistle (politics)
- Domino Theory
- Dual State (model)
- Economic democracy
- Epistemic community
- Ethic of ultimate ends
- Extra-parliamentary opposition
- Feminist Institutionalism
- Fusion of Powers
- Geopolitical economy
- Governmentality
- Heresthetic
- Institutional Corruption
- Intergovernmentalism
- Internal Border Control
- Iron law of oligarchy
- Joint-Decision Trap
- Kindleberger Trap
- Kingmaker Scenario
- Military globalization
- Multi-Party System
- Non-aggression principle
- … and 22 more — see all
Psychology & Behavioral Sciences
The study of mind and behavior at the individual level — perception, cognition, emotion, personality, motivation, development, learning, and mental disorder. Canonical traditions: behaviorism, psychoanalysis, cognitive psychology, social psychology, clinical psychology, developmental psychology.
See also: Neuroscience, Cognitive Science, Medicine & Healthcare (within Medicine), Behavioral Economics, Education & Pedagogy
79 primes
- Action Bias
- Anchoring
- Approach-Avoidance Conflict
- Archetype
- Attention
- Automaticity
- Bystander Effect
- Category Retrieval Lock In
- Chunking
- Clustering Illusion
- Cognitive Appraisal
- Cognitive Dissonance
- Cognitive Entrenchment
- Cognitive Flexibility
- Cognitive Offloading
- Cognitive Resource Depletion
- Conditioning (Behavioral)
- Confirmation Bias
- Conformity
- Counterfactual Reasoning
- Curiosity
- Decision Fatigue
- Dunning-Kruger Effect
- Emotional Contagion
- Emotional Reasoning
- Epistemic Action
- Escalation of Commitment
- Exemplar Retrieval
- Expectancy-Mediated Outcome
- Exposure-Distribution Learning
- Feedforward Inhibition
- Framing
- Fundamental Attribution Error
- Goal Shielding
- Group Cohesion
- Groupthink
- Habit
- Habituation
- Heuristic
- Implementation Intention
- In-Group / Out-Group
- Information overload
- Learned Helplessness
- Learning
- Maintenance Rehearsal
- Mental Model
- Mere Exposure Effect
- Metacognition
- Motivated Reasoning
- Neuromodulation
- … and 29 more — see all
423 domain-specific abstractions
- Acculturation gap
- Analytical psychology
- Assembly Bonus Effect
- Assertiveness
- Atkinson–Shiffrin memory model
- Attachment
- Attentional Bias
- Attentional Blink
- Attenuation theory
- Attribute Substitution
- Authority Bias
- Automation Bias
- Availability Heuristic
- Backfire Effect
- Barnum Effect
- Base Rate Fallacy
- Behavioral Effect
- Behaviorism
- Belief Bias
- Ben Franklin Effect
- Bezold Effect
- Bias Blind Spot
- Bibliotherapy
- Bicameral mentality
- Bilingual memory
- Binocular Rivalry
- Birthday-Number Effect
- Body Part as Object
- Cass identity model
- Central Route Processing
- Certainty Effect
- Cheerleader Effect
- Child lying
- Choice-Supportive Bias
- Circumplex model of group tasks
- Classical conditioning
- Cocktail party effect
- Cognitive bias mitigation
- Cognitive interview
- Cognitive Load
- Cognitive Reframing
- Cognitive specialization
- Cognitive-affective personality system
- Coherence Therapy
- Common Fate
- Communal reinforcement
- Comparative Self-Assessment Crossover
- Conation
- Concept Creep
- Configural Processing
- … and 373 more — see all
Public Administration & Policy
The study of how governments and public-sector organizations design, implement, and evaluate policy — bureaucratic structure, policy process, administrative ethics, public management, governance networks. Distinct from Political Science by its focus on implementation rather than politics, and from Organizational Management by its public-sector orientation.
See also: Political Science, Law & Governance, Economics & Finance
6 primes
- Best Practice
- Boundary Signal Spillover
- Certification
- Incrementalism
- Unowned Known Risk
- Vulnerability Decomposition
19 domain-specific abstractions
- Asset-Based Welfare
- Cadastre
- Center of Government
- Collaboration vouchers
- De-linkage
- Dual subordination
- Generational Contract
- Government by algorithm
- Health insurance mandate
- Housing First
- Information Policy
- Intergenerational public procurement
- Logic Model (Program Evaluation)
- Metrication
- Odd–even rationing
- Remunicipalization
- Sabato triangle
- Transition management (governance)
- Welfare benefit simplification
Sociology & Anthropology
The study of human collective life — social structure, culture, institutions, kinship, ritual, and the forces that produce and reproduce them. Characterized methodologically by fieldwork, ethnography, and comparative analysis. Canonical traditions: Durkheim, Weber, Lévi-Strauss, Bourdieu, Boas, Malinowski, Geertz.
See also: Psychology & Behavioral Sciences, Political Science, Cultural Studies, History & Historiography, Ethnography & Qualitative Research Methods, Religious Studies & Theology
49 primes
- Authority
- Bricolage
- Co-location
- Co-Presence
- Collective Effervescence
- Collective Efficacy
- Collective Memory
- Cultural Diffusion
- Cultural Friction
- Cultural Hegemony
- Culture Lag
- Emic And Etic
- Encounter Surface
- Enculturation
- Ethnocentrism
- Habitus
- Informal Enforcement
- Institution
- Institutional Lag
- Internalization
- Liminality
- Micro Macro Linkage
- Mobilization
- Moral Panic
- Native-Category Flattening
- Network Broker Role
- Purity and Pollution
- Reciprocity
- Reputation
- Ritual
- Role
- Role Conflict
- Role Fluidity
- Sacred
- Scapegoating
- Schismogenesis
- Self-Defeating Prediction
- Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
- Social Capital
- Social Construction of Reality
- Social Norms
- Solidarity
- Structural Filtering
- Structural Violence
- Symbolic Boundaries
- Taboo
- Trust
- Unintended consequences
- Weak Ties
151 domain-specific abstractions
- 'I' and the 'me'
- Action Research
- Age set
- Age-area hypothesis
- Analytic Memo
- Applied Anthropology
- Ascriptive Inequality
- Axial Coding
- Blockmodel
- Blockmodeling
- Bott Hypothesis
- Bureaucracy
- Class stratification
- Class struggle
- Cognized Environment
- Collaboration Graph
- Compatibility-with-childcare theory
- Confirmability
- Credentialism and degree inflation
- Critical Consumerism
- Cronyism
- Cultural assimilation
- Cultural Attractor Theory
- Cultural Consensus Theory
- Cultural Reproduction
- Cultural retention
- Culture of fear
- Demographic Transition Model
- Demographic window
- Denationalized citizenship
- Doing Gender
- Duality of structure
- Ecological-evolutionary theory
- Economic determinism
- Elite class
- Embeddedness
- Ethnoscape
- Experimenter's Regress
- Face
- Face Management
- Family Stress Model
- Fieldnote Backfill
- Fieldnotes
- Figurational sociology
- Focus group
- Friendship Paradox
- Gender system
- Generalized blockmodeling of binary networks
- Generational Imbalance
- Global Language System
- … and 101 more — see all