Our Research Program

We represent an approach that aims at the development of explanations and models based on action theory as well as their systematic empirical verification. In doing so, we incorporate sociological, economic and social psychological insights. Our research focuses on social action, trust and reciprocity, boundary processes, the integration of ethnic minorities, and the sociology of crime.

Exemplary research questions: when do people make decisions spontaneously and when do they do so by weighing different incentives? Is trust rational, and how can we explain the emergence of trust? What favored the emergence of nations, populism, or ethnic closure in the process of political modernization? Under what conditions is involvement in ethnic communities a hindrance or a benefit to the educational success of the second generation?

The DFG project "Friendship and Violence in Adolescence" investigates the development, maintenance and termination of violent delinquency among adolescents. The longitudinal study, conducted in five cities in the Ruhr region, focuses in particular on changes in peer networks and violence-legitimizing norms over time.

The ERC project "Social Integration and Boundary Making in Adolescence" (SOCIALBOND) investigates integration and boundary making processes in the school context and aims to develop a theory that explains on the basis of which combinations of characteristics (such as gender, ethnic or social origin) groups and identities emerge among adolescents.

The international orientation of our research is reflected in collaborations (e.g. International Network of Analytical Sociologists, Institute of Criminology, Cambridge) and publications in journals such as American Journal of Sociology, Annual Review of Sociology, Criminology, The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences, International Migration Review or Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. More information at: www.kroneberg.eu