Stephen Vaisey | Scholars@Duke

Stephen Vaisey
Professor of Sociology

The main goal of my research is to understand moral and political beliefs: what they are, where they come from, and what they do. I lead the Measuring Morality project, the goal of which is to understand how different ideas of morality fit together and influence politics and other domains of life.

I also work quite a bit on statistical methods for observational data, including panel data, treatment effects analysis, and multilevel modeling.

Current Appointments & Affiliations

Professor of Sociology, Sociology, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2016
Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Sociology, Sociology, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2013
Professor of Political Science, Political Science, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2018
Faculty Research Scholar of DuPRI's Population Research Center, Duke Population Research Center, Duke Population Research Institute 2010

Contact Information

Background
Education, Training, & Certifications
- Ph.D., University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill 2008
Previous Appointments & Affiliations
- Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology, Sociology, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2012 - 2016
- Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology, Sociology, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2011 - 2012
- Scholar In Residence in the Department of Sociology, Sociology, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2011
Recognition
In the News
- SEP 2, 2014 Duke Today
  
  How Do You Measure Morality?
- SEP 2, 2014
  
  How Do You Measure Morality?
- MAY 30, 2014 WUNC
  
  Stephen Vaisey: Is there anything you would not do for a million dollars?
- APR 30, 2014 The Huffington Post
  
  Measuring Morality project: What would you do for a million dollars?
- AUG 22, 2013 Duke Today
  
  Kenan Institute Project on "Measuring Morality" Opens Data to Researchers
- AUG 22, 2013
  
  Kenan Institute Project on "Measuring Morality" Opens Data to Researchers
Expertise
Subject Headings
Research
Selected Grants
- Building a Community of Practice in Diverse Intelligences awarded by University of California, Los Angeles 2020
- The Spread and Impact of Moral Messages: Machine Learning, Network Evolution, and Behavioral Prediction awarded by University of Southern California 2015 - 2018
- "The Social Context and Consequences of Transformative Experience" awarded by University of Notre Dame 2014 - 2017
External Relationships
- Statistical Horizons
Publications & Artistic Works
Selected Publications
- Books
  - Hitlin, S., & Vaisey, S. (Eds.). (2010). Handbook of the Sociology of Morality. Springer.
- Academic Articles
  - Edelmann, A., & Vaisey, S. (2023). Gender differential effect of college on political orientation over the last 40 years in the U.S.-A propensity score weighting approach. Plos One, 18(1), e0279273. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279273
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  - Corrigendum. (2022). American Sociological Review, 87(2), 373–381. https://doi.org/10.1177/00031224221078847
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  - Underwood, T., Kiley, K., Shang, W., & Vaisey, S. (2022). Cohort Succession Explains Most Change in Literary Culture. Sociological Science, 9, 184–205. https://doi.org/10.15195/V9.A8
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  - Valentino, L., & Vaisey, S. (2022). Culture and Durable Inequality. Annual Review of Sociology, 48. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-030320-102739
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  - Vaisey, S. (2021). Welcome to the Real World: Escaping the Sociology of Culture and Cognition. Sociological Forum, 36(S1), 1297–1315. https://doi.org/10.1111/socf.12770
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  - Vaisey, S., & Kiley, K. (2021). A Model-Based Method for Detecting Persistent Cultural Change Using Panel Data. Sociological Science, 8, 83–95. https://doi.org/10.15195/v8.a5
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  - Kiley, K., & Vaisey, S. (2020). Measuring Stability and Change in Personal Culture Using Panel Data. American Sociological Review, 85(3), 477–506. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122420921538
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  - Vaisey, S., & Valentino, L. (2018). Culture and choice: Toward integrating cultural sociology with the judgment and decision-making sciences. Poetics, 68, 131–143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poetic.2018.03.002
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  - Boutyline, A., & Vaisey, S. (2017). Belief network analysis: A relational approach to understanding the structure of attitudes. American Journal of Sociology, 122(5), 1371–1447. https://doi.org/10.1086/691274
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  - Dehghani, M., Johnson, K., Hoover, J., Sagi, E., Garten, J., Parmar, N. J., … Graham, J. (2016). Purity homophily in social networks. Journal of Experimental Psychology. General, 145(3), 366–375. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000139
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  - Vaisey, S., & Lizardo, O. (2016). Cultural Fragmentation or Acquired Dispositions? A New Approach to Accounting for Patterns of Cultural Change. Socius, 2. https://doi.org/10.1177/2378023116669726
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  - Victor, E. C., Miles, A., & Vaisey, S. (2015). The Role of Moral Worldviews in Predicting Sexual Behavior From Adolescence to Emerging Adulthood. Journal of Adolescent Research, 30(6), 779–799. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743558414561294
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  - Miles, A., & Vaisey, S. (2015). Morality and politics: Comparing alternate theories. Social Science Research, 53, 252–269. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2015.06.002
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  - Johnson, K. M., Iyer, R., Wojcik, S. P., Vaisey, S., Miles, A., Chu, V., & Graham, J. (2014). Ideology-specific patterns of moral indifference predict intentions not to vote. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 14(1), 61–77. https://doi.org/10.1111/asap.12039
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  - Edelmann, A., & Vaisey, S. (2014). Cultural resources and cultural distinction in networks. Poetics, 46, 22–37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poetic.2014.08.001
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  - Vaisey, S., & Miles, A. (2014). Tools from moral psychology for measuring personal moral culture. Theory and Society, 43(3), 311–332. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11186-014-9221-8
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  - Vaisey, S. (2014). The "Attitudinal Fallacy" Is a Fallacy: Why We Need Many Methods to Study Culture. Sociological Methods and Research, 43(2), 227–231. https://doi.org/10.1177/0049124114523395
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  - Vaisey, S. (2014). Is interviewing compatible with the dual-process model of culture. American Journal of Cultural Sociology, 2(1), 150–158. https://doi.org/10.1057/ajcs.2013.8
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  - Beyerlein, K., & Vaisey, S. (2013). Individualism revisited: Moral worldviews and civic engagement. Poetics, 41(4), 384–406. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poetic.2013.05.002
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  - Longest, K. C., Hitlin, S., & Vaisey, S. (2013). Position and Disposition: The Contextual Development of Human Values. Social Forces, 91(4), 1499–1528. https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/sot045
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  - Hitlin, S., & Vaisey, S. (2012). The New Sociology of Morality. Annual Review of Sociology.
  - Kahwati, L. C., Lewis, M. A., Kane, H., Williams, P. A., Nerz, P., Jones, K. R., … Kinsinger, L. S. (2011). Best practices in the Veterans Health Administration's MOVE! Weight management program. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 41(5), 457–464. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2011.06.047
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  - Vaisey, S. (2010). What People Want: Rethinking Poverty, Culture, and Educational Attainment. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 75–101.
  - Vaisey, S., & Lizardo, O. (2010). Can Cultural Worldviews Influence Network Composition? Social Forces, 88, 1595–1618.
  - Adkins, D. E., & Vaisey, S. (2009). Toward a unified stratification theory: Structure, genome, and status across human societies. Sociological Theory, 27(2), 99–121. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9558.2009.01339.x
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  - Vaisey, S. (2009). Motivation and Justification: A Dual-Process Model of Culture in Action. American Journal of Sociology, 114, 1675–1715.
  - Trinitapoli, J., & Vaisey, S. (2009). The Transformative Role of Religious Experience:The Case of Short Term Missions. Social Forces, 88, 121–146.
  - Vaisey, S. (2008). Socrates, Skinner, and Aristotle: Three Ways of Thinking about Culture in Action. Sociological Forum, 23, 603–613.
  - Vaisey, S. (2008). Reply to Ann Swidler. Sociological Forum, 23(3), 619–622. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1573-7861.2008.00081.x
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  - Longest, K. C., & Vaisey, S. (2008). Control or conviction: Religion and adolescent initiation of marijuana use. Journal of Drug Issues, 38(3), 689–715. https://doi.org/10.1177/002204260803800303
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  - Perrin, A., & Vaisey, S. (2008). Parallel Public Spheres: Distance and Discourse in Letters to the Editor. American Journal of Sociology, 114, 781–810.
  - Vaisey, S., & Smith, C. (2008). Catholic Guilt among U.S. Teenagers: A Research Note. Review of Religious Research, 49, 415–426.
  - Vaisey, S. (2007). Structure, Culture, and Community: The Search for Belonging in 50 Urban Communes. American Sociological Review, 72, 851–873.
  - Shanahan, M. J., Erickson, L. D., Vaisey, S., & Smolen, A. (2007). Helping Relationships and Genetic Propensities: A Combinatoric Study of DRD2, Mentoring, and Educational Continuation. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 10, 285–298.
  - Vaisey, S. (2006). Education and its discontents: Overqualification in America, 1972-2002. Social Forces, 85(2), 835–864. https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.2007.0028
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  - Kalleberg, A. L., & Vaisey, S. (2005). Pathways to a good job: Perceived work quality among the machinists in North America. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 43(3), 431–454. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8543.2005.00363.x
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  - Vaisey, S. B. (n.d.). What You Can—and Can’t—Do With Three-Wave Panel Data (In preparation). Sociological Methods and Research.
  - Vaisey, S. B. (n.d.). The Role of Moral Worldviews in Predicting Adolescent Sexual Behavior (In preparation). Journal of Adolescent Research.
- Book Sections
  - Hitlin, S., & Vaisey, S. (2010). Back to the Future: Reviving the Sociology of Morality. In Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research (pp. 3–14). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6896-8_1
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- Book Reviews
  - Vaisey, S. (2012). Why Things Matter to People: Social Science, Values and Ethical Life by Andrew Sayer. Contemporary Sociology: a Journal of Reviews. https://doi.org/10.1177/0094306112457769jj
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  - Vaisey, S. (2012). The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt. Archives Europeennes De Sociologie. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003975612000422
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  - Vaisey, S. (2011). The Theory of Cultural and Social Selection by W.G. Runciman. American Journal of Sociology.
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  - Vaisey, S. (2009). Fuzzy Set Theory: Applications in the Social Sciences by Michael Smithson and Jay Verkuilen. Sociological Methods & Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/0049124107306675
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  - Shanahan, M. J., Vaisey, S., Erickson, L. D., & Smolen, A. (2008). Environmental Contingencies and Genetic Predispositions: Social Capital, Educational Continuation, and a Dopamine Receptor Polymorphism. American Journal of Sociology.
  - Vaisey, S. (2007). Emerging Moral Vocabularies: The Creation and Establishment of New Forms of Moral and Ethical Meanings by Brian M. Lowe. Contemporary Sociology: a Journal of Reviews. https://doi.org/10.1177/009430610703600332
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  - Vaisey, S. (2004). Human institutions: A theory of societal evolution by Jonathan H. Turner. Social Forces; a Scientific Medium of Social Study and Interpretation. Oxford University Press (OUP): Policy E - Oxford Open Option D. https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.2004.0129
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- Preprints
  - Vaisey, S. (2021). Welcome to the Real World: Escaping the Sociology of Culture and Cognition. Center for Open Science. https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/a84jd
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  - Edelmann, A., & Vaisey, S. (2021). Gender Differential Effect of College on Socio-Political Orientation Over the Last 40 Years—a Propensity Score Weighting approach. Center for Open Science. https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/25yux
    Full Text
  - Vaisey, S., & Kiley, K. (2020). A model-based method for detecting persistent cultural change using panel data. Center for Open Science. https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/ec46t
    Full Text
  - Kiley, K., & Vaisey, S. (2020). Measuring Stability and Change in Personal Culture Using Panel Data. Center for Open Science. https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/8za35
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  - Vaisey, S., & Frye, M. (2017). The Old One-Two: Preserving Analytical Dualism in Psychological Sociology. Center for Open Science. https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/p2w5c
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  - Vaisey, S., & Valentino, L. (2017). Culture and Choice: Toward Integrating Cultural Sociology with the Judgment and Decision-Making Sciences. Center for Open Science. https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/b7grn
    Full Text
Teaching & Mentoring
Recent Courses

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Education, Training, & Certifications

Previous Appointments & Affiliations

In the News

Subject Headings

Selected Grants

External Relationships

Selected Publications

Books

Academic Articles

Book Sections

Book Reviews

Preprints

Recent Courses