This month's Why Social Science? post comes from Dr. Kenneth A. Bollen from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill about how social sciences, though imperfect, remain our best and most reliable hope for understanding and solving many of the crises we face.
Recent Gallup polling shows that Americans believe government dysfunction, skyrocketing costs of living, economic inequality, and healthcare affordability are the most critical challenges facing our nation. At their core, all these problems stem from human thoughts and actions.
Solving these crises requires us to change these human factors. To change them, we must understand them. Reversing economic inequality or fixing broken government institutions depends on understanding the levers that drive human beliefs and behaviors. This is the domain of the social and behavioral sciences. Just like the natural sciences, the social and behavioral sciences seek accurate measurements and empirical descriptions to design effective, real-life interventions.
What happens if we look elsewhere for solutions? Imagine a world completely devoid of the social and behavioral sciences, where policy is guided strictly by alternative forces.