Heiko Rauhut

Heiko Rauhut is a Full Professor of Social Theory and Quantitative Methods at the Department of Sociology, University of Zurich, Switzerland. He is also a private lecturer ("Privatdozent") at ETH Zurich. Rauhut has been awarded an SNSF Starting Grant, which is equivalent to an ERC Starting Grant. His academic journey includes serving as an SNSF Professor at the Department of Sociology and previously working at the Chair of Sociology at ETH Zurich, where he completed his "Habilitation." He earned his doctorate from the Institute of Sociology at the University of Leipzig and his Master's degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Professor Rauhut's research focuses on the emergence, change, and decay of social norms and their effects on cooperation and conflicts. His specific research topics include:

• Normative conflicts
• Spreading of lies and dishonesty
• Signaling behavior
• Social value orientation
• Reciprocity and punishment mechanisms
• Wisdom of crowds phenomena
• Network analysis
• Quantitative sociology of science

Rauhut's methodological approach combines analytical social theory, game theory, and agent-based models with empirical research methods such as laboratory and field experiments, surveys, social network analyses, and big data analyses. His work often examines how individual behaviors aggregate to produce social phenomena, with particular attention to experimental approaches.

His publications in journals like Social Forces, PNAS, and Rationality and Society demonstrate consistent focus on social norms, cooperation, and experimental methods. His research shows progression from theoretical foundations to increasingly sophisticated experimental designs that test social phenomena in controlled settings.

Professor Rauhut has been recognized with an SNSF Starting Grant for his project on social norms, cooperation, and conflict in scientific collaborations. This prestigious grant reflects the significance and potential impact of his research agenda, which aims to understand when social norms promote cooperation and when they lead to conflicts.

Rauhut leads a research team at the University of Zurich that includes several scientific staff members. His team works on various projects related to social norms, cooperation, and experimental social science. He is also actively involved in teaching, with a focus on developing students' competencies in analytical theory building, empirical research methods, and critical reflection of research results.