Stanford Seminar - How Behavior Spreads

This seminar examines how behaviors, innovations, and social movements spread through networks. It covers weak ties, network hubs, complex contagions, social reinforcement, experimental sociology, and strategies for designing social change.

Syllabus

Introduction.
Social Change (Arab Spring).
Egypt (2011) Twitter.
Puzzle of Innovation Diffusion.
Intuitions.
Weak Ties.
What Goes Wrong?.
Ideas of Diffusion.
Summary.
Overview.
Social Networks.
Small World Model.
Social Reinforcement.
Collective Behaviors.
Complex Contagions.
Neighborhood Structure.
Findings.
Network Hubs.
Counterintuitive Implications.
Experimental Study.
Populations are Actors.
Experimental Sociology.
Experimental Design.
Randomization to Networks.
Select Health Interests.
Health Buddies.
Initiating Behavior.
Diffusion of Behavior.
Replication.
Commitment.
External Validity.
Complexity in Diffusion.
Social Design.
HPV Vaccination.
Tipping Points in Social Change.
Social Learning and Partisan Bias.
Designing Social Change.