Importance of Social Science with Professor Cary Cooper

Summary

The speaker emphasizes the critical role of social sciences in driving behavior change across various societal issues, such as health, climate sustainability, and tax compliance. They highlight the importance of social scientists in creating incentives and techniques to encourage positive behaviors for personal and societal benefit. The speaker also discusses the government's adoption of social sciences through initiatives like 'What Works' and the need for the field to promote its impact in education, social services, and health.

Takeaways

• 🎓 The speaker has multiple degrees in social sciences, emphasizing their importance in understanding and influencing human behavior.
• 🌍 Social sciences are crucial for addressing global issues like climate change and health, as they help in changing people's attitudes and behaviors.
• 🚹 The example of prostate cancer highlights the need for social sciences to encourage men to seek medical help when needed.
• 🤔 The speaker argues that without social sciences, even the best scientific advancements may not be effectively utilized by society.
• 🏋️‍♂️ Social scientists are involved in promoting healthy behaviors such as exercise, balanced diets, and sports participation.
• 🏛️ Governments are increasingly adopting social sciences to create policies that encourage positive behaviors in areas like health, sustainability, and tax compliance.
• 🔍 The 'What Works' approach is an example of how social sciences are being used to develop evidence-based strategies for behavior change.
• 📈 The UK has a strong presence in social science research, ranking second globally for high-quality publications.
• 📢 The Campaign for Social Science is important for promoting the field and its contributions to various sectors.
• 🌟 The speaker believes that social sciences are undervalued and need better promotion to showcase their impact on society.

Q & A

Why does the speaker emphasize the importance of social sciences?

The speaker emphasizes the importance of social sciences because they play a crucial role in understanding and influencing human behavior, which is essential for addressing issues like climate change, health, and sustainability.

What is the primary challenge mentioned regarding men's health in the script?

The primary challenge mentioned is getting men to seek help when they exhibit symptoms of potential prostate issues, as they often try to deny it and avoid medical attention.

According to the speaker, what is the key role of social sciences in medical research?

The key role of social sciences in medical research is to facilitate behavior change, ensuring that people adopt healthier behaviors and practices, such as seeking timely medical care and engaging in preventive health measures.

What does the speaker suggest about the role of social sciences in promoting sustainability?

The speaker suggests that social sciences are vital in changing people's attitudes towards sustainability, which is necessary for implementing effective environmental policies and practices.

How does the speaker describe the government's approach to adopting social sciences?

The government has adopted a 'What Works' approach, collaborating with social scientists to develop techniques that incentivize behavior change in various areas, including health, sustainability, and financial responsibility.

What is one of the specific examples given by the speaker about behavior change in health?

One specific example is encouraging people to engage in physical exercise, eat a balanced diet, and participate in sports to improve their health.

What is the significance of the 'What Works' approach mentioned in the script?

The 'What Works' approach signifies a government initiative to identify and implement evidence-based strategies that effectively bring about desired behavioral changes in the population.

How does the speaker view the role of social scientists in government initiatives?

The speaker views social scientists as essential collaborators in government initiatives, as they develop and apply techniques to motivate individuals to adopt behaviors that benefit their personal and societal well-being.

What is the speaker's opinion on the promotion of social sciences?

The speaker believes that the promotion of social sciences is crucial, as it helps disseminate the impact and value of social sciences to a wider audience, including the media, government, and businesses.

How does the speaker describe the achievements of social scientists in the UK?

The speaker describes the achievements of social scientists in the UK as significant, with the country having more published papers than almost any other country and being second in the world for top-quality publications in the social sciences.

What is the 'Campaign for Social Science' mentioned in the script, and why is it important?

The 'Campaign for Social Science' is an initiative aimed at promoting and disseminating the work of social scientists, highlighting their contributions to various fields and ensuring that their impact is recognized and understood by different stakeholders.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Importance of Social Sciences in Behavior Change

The speaker emphasizes the critical role of social sciences in facilitating behavior change across various societal sectors. They highlight the significance of social sciences in understanding and addressing issues like climate change, medical research acceptance, and promoting sustainable practices. The speaker argues that despite advancements in science, it is the application of social sciences that can effectively encourage individuals to adopt healthier lifestyles, engage in environmental sustainability, and adhere to societal norms such as tax payment and legal compliance. The government's adoption of social sciences through 'What Works' initiatives is noted as a positive development, indicating the growing recognition of the field's impact on policy and public behavior.

Keywords

💡Social Sciences

Social Sciences encompass a range of academic disciplines that study human society, social behavior, and institutions. In the script, the speaker emphasizes the importance of social sciences in understanding and influencing behavior, such as changing attitudes towards sustainability or encouraging men to seek medical help for prostate cancer symptoms. The speaker uses their own academic background in social sciences to highlight its relevance in addressing real-world issues.

💡Behavior Change

Behavior Change refers to the process of altering an individual's or group's habits or patterns of action. The script discusses the central role of social sciences in facilitating behavior change across various domains, including health, sustainability, and economic behavior. The speaker provides examples such as encouraging physical exercise and balanced diets, which are part of the broader effort to improve public health.

💡Managerial Economics

Managerial Economics is a branch of economics that applies economic theories and quantitative methods to solve problems in business management. The speaker mentions having a degree in this field, indicating its potential contribution to understanding economic behavior and decision-making within organizations, which is relevant to the broader theme of influencing behavior change in various sectors.

💡Psychology

Psychology is the scientific study of the human mind and its functions, particularly those affecting behavior. In the context of the script, psychology is highlighted as a key social science that helps understand and potentially alter human behavior, such as addressing denial of health issues or promoting sustainable practices.

💡Management

Management refers to the administration of an organization, including the coordination and organization of its resources to achieve goals. The speaker's degree in management underscores the practical application of social sciences in leading and influencing behavior within organizational contexts, aligning with the video's theme of behavior change.

💡Sustainability

Sustainability generally refers to the ability to maintain certain processes or states without depleting resources or causing long-term damage. The script discusses the role of social sciences in changing people's attitudes towards sustainability, which is crucial for addressing environmental issues and promoting long-term ecological balance.

💡Prostate Cancer

Prostate Cancer is a type of cancer that occurs in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. The script uses prostate cancer as an example to illustrate the challenge of getting men to seek medical help when they exhibit symptoms, highlighting the importance of social sciences in health communication and behavior change.

💡What Works

In the script, 'What Works' refers to an approach adopted by the government that involves social scientists working to identify and promote effective strategies for behavior change. This concept is central to the video's message about the practical application of social sciences in government policy and public health initiatives.

💡Incentivize

To Incentivize means to motivate or encourage action by offering a reward or advantage. The speaker mentions that social scientists are developing techniques to incentivize behaviors that benefit individuals and society, such as paying taxes on time or accessing benefits, which ties into the overarching theme of using social sciences to drive positive change.

💡Flexible Working Arrangements

Flexible Working Arrangements refer to employment conditions that allow for flexibility in working hours or location. The script mentions this as an example of a behavior that social scientists are helping to promote, indicating the application of social sciences in shaping modern work practices and improving work-life balance.

💡Campaign for Social Science

The Campaign for Social Science is an initiative aimed at promoting the importance and value of social sciences to a wider audience. In the script, the speaker discusses the campaign as a means of disseminating the impact of social sciences across various sectors, including education, social services, and health, reinforcing the video's theme of the significance of social sciences in societal advancement.

Highlights

The speaker has multiple degrees in social sciences, emphasizing their importance from a personal perspective.

Social sciences are crucial for understanding and influencing human behavior, even when scientific knowledge is available.

Behavior change is a central theme in social sciences, including economics, psychology, and sociology.

The challenge of getting men to seek help for prostate cancer symptoms highlights the need for social science in health issues.

The role of social science in changing attitudes towards sustainability and climate change is discussed.

The importance of social science in promoting individual health through exercise, diet, and lifestyle choices.

Government adoption of social sciences through 'What Works' approaches to influence behavior change.

Social scientists working with governments to improve health, sustainability, and compliance with societal norms.

The development of techniques by social scientists to incentivize positive personal and family behaviors.

The right to request flexible working arrangements as an example of social science influencing policy.

The need for social sciences to promote themselves and their impact on various sectors effectively.

The UK's strong position in social science publications and the importance of the 'Campaign for Social Science'.

The campaign's role in disseminating the impact of social sciences to a wider audience, including government and business.

The proactive involvement of social scientists in education, social services, and health sectors.

The necessity for social scientists to communicate their contributions and the benefits they bring to society.

Transcripts

you know I've I've been in the social

sciences for a long time in fact I have

all sorts of funny degrees in social

sciences from managerial economics to

psychology to management I have a number

of them the social sciences are really

important in my in my point from my

point of view and I'll tell you why

they're important because we can have

all the great science in the world we

can have the greatest climate change we

can have the greatest medical uh

research on prostate cancer and

everything else but how do we get men to

turn up when they have symptoms of

potential prostrate how do we do it how

do we change the behavior of men who try

to deny it and don't turn up how do we

change people's attitudes toward

sustainability the climate and

everything else that's more important

you could have all the greatest science

in the world tells us really we can

identify that that illness we can we

know for sure what causes problems but

you have to get people to change their

behavior and actually almost all the

social science economics psychology

sociology you name it is about Behavior

change in one form or another but from

different perspectives if somebody said

to me social science isn't important I'd

say to them something like so education

isn't important health is individual

health isn't important because what

we're trying to do for example just in

the Health Arena alone is we're trying

to get people to engage in physical

exercise we're trying to get them to eat

proper food um get a balanced diet

uh we're trying to get people to uh

engage in sport as well and do things in

they walk 10,000 steps a day hey how do

we do that without the advice and help

of the social scientist who's done the

work on how people are going to actually

make their own health better we're lost

what I think is really fascinating is

how the government is adopted social

sciences in the way by creating this

what works uh approach and they're all

over the country small pockets of of

groups of social scientists who have who

are working with government to try to

get people to change their behavior with

regard to their health to change their

behavior with regard to sustainable

issues to change their behavior in terms

of paying their taxes on time and and

also paying for things like um the the

TV license a whole range of things in

other words social scientists whether

their sociologist psychologist

economists are developing techniques to

incentivize people to take on behaviors

that will help them personally will help

their families uh uh actually accessing

benefits that quite a lot of people

haven't access didn't know about um uh

requesting flexible working Arrangements

which is coming in now at the end of

June which is all about people now have

the right to request it regardless of

whether they have kids or not no kids

it's a whole range of topics and I think

this is a real uh move forward for the

social sciences it's a real stamp of

approval I think social sciences until

recently hasn't been very good at

promoting itself we have great academics

if you take the UK we have more

published papers than almost any country

other than the United States and we're

second in the world for top quality

Publications in the social sciences the

campaign for social science is really

really important and the reason it is is

because it is disseminating what we do

it's letting the wider community it's

not just the media it's government it's

business it's a whole range of uh

stakeholders and saying hey this is what

we do look at and we make a difference

we've done that and the bottom line is

it delivers that whether it's about in

education or in Social Services or in

health and we we hit all of those areas

we're really very proactive in all those

kinds of areas we just have to let them

know that we

are