Stephen Vaisey

Assistant Professor of Sociology

Senior Fellow, Kenan Institute for Ethics

Duke University

What I Study

The main goal of my research is to understand the varieties, origins, and consequences of different moral worldviews. In other words, I want to know where people get their ideas about what a "good life" looks like and what it means to be a "good person" and to determine how that shapes the choices they make. I have also conducted research on 1970s communes, religion and marijuana use, educational overqualification, gene-environment interactions, and the relationship between poverty and educational aspirations, among other topics.

Most generally, I simply want know why people do the things they do, and to figure out the role of culture and cognition in explaining human behavior.