Mining the intersections of cognitive sociology and neuroscience

Over the past 50 years, cognitive neuroscience has emerged as the dominant player in research on thought. In an effort to keep their voices heard, social psychologists, anthropologists, political scientists and even economists have joined cognitive neuroscientists in lively dialog. But many sociologists are stubbornly clinging to the sidelines, honoring – and in some cases strengthening – rigid intellectual boundaries. Triggered by DiMaggio's (1997) well sounded call to action, a distinct group of sociologists are challenging such boundaries and pursuing a new path. In this essay, I discuss several recent works that constitute a new and powerful page in cognitive sociology, and more broadly, in the study of culture and cognition.