Karen Cook

Professor Karen Cook is the Ray Lyman Wilbur Professor of Sociology and the current chair of the department. Her current research focuses on issues of trust in social relations and networks. She is also working on projects related to social justice, power-dependence relations and social exchange theory, in addition to collaborative research on physician-patient trust. She was a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (1998-99) and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1996 and the National Academy of Sciences in 2007. She is Director of the Institute for Research in the Social Sciences at Stanford.

Curriculum Vitæ
Email Karen Cook


RESEARCH AREAS

Social Psychology; Organizational Behavior; Group Processes; Social Networks, Health Care.

OTHER APPOINTMENTS/ORGANIZATIONS

Chair of Department of Sociology; Director, Institute for Research in the Social Sciences (IRiSS); National Academy of Sciences - Elected Fellow

PUBLICATIONS

Recent Books:

  • Etrust and Reputation. (forthcoming) Karen S. Cook, Chris Snijders, Vincent Buskens and Coye Cheshire (eds.) New York: Russell Sage Foundation Publications.

  • The Complexities and Limits of Trust . (forthcoming) Karen S. Cook, Margaret Levi and Russell Hardin (eds.) New York: Russell Sage Foundation Publications.
  • Cooperation Without Trust? Karen S. Cook, Russell Hardin, Margaret Levi. (2005) New York: Russell Sage Publications
  • Trust and Distrust in Organizations: Emerging Perspectives. 2004. Roderick Kramer and Karen S. Cook (eds.) New York: Russell Sage Foundation Publications.


  • Social Capital, Nan Lin, Karen S. Cook and Ron Burt. 2001. The Netherlands: Aldine de Gruter.
  • Trust in Society, Karen S. Cook (editor) 2001. New York City, New York: Russell Sage Foundation

Recent Papers:

  • “Patients’ Race, Ethnicity, Language, and Trust in their Physicians.” Irena Stepanikova, Stefanie Bailey Mollborn, Karen S. Cook, David H. Thom, and Roderick M. Kramer. Journal of Health and Social Behavior. December
    2006. 47 (4):390-405.
  • “Trust and Trustworthiness in Two Games and Two Cultures: A Research Note.” Toko Kiyonari,
    Toshio Yamagishi, Karen S. Cook and Coye Cheshire Social Psychology Quarterly (vol. 69) September 2006.
  • “Homans and Emerson on Power: Out of the Skinner Box.” 2006. Karen S. Cook and Alexandra Gerbasi, in Javier Trevino (ed.) George C. Homans: History Theory and Method. Paradigm Publishers
  • “Power-Dependence and Exchange Theory.” 2006. Karen S. Cook, Coye Cheshire, Alexandra Gerbasi, to appear in Peter Burke (ed.) Contemporary Social Psychological Theories, Stanford University Press: Stanford, CA.
  • “Delayed Care and Unmet Needs among Health Care Users: When Does Fiduciary Trust in a
    Physician Matter?” Stefanie Bailey Mollborn, Irena Stepanikova and Karen S. Cook. 2005. Health Services Research Vol 40. Number 6 (December): 1898-1917
  • “ NatverkOch Tillit ar Viktigt for Halsovardens Kvalitet (Networks and Trust are Important for the Quality of Health Care). Karen S. Cook and Irena Stepanikova. 2005. Axess, Issue 5.
  • “The Sociology of Power and Justice: Coming of Age in the Sixties.” In Alan Sica (ed.) The Disobedient Generation: ‘68ers and the Transformation of Social Theory. Chicago: University of Chicago Press (2005).
  • “Trust Building via Risk Taking: A Cross-Societal Experiment,” Karen S. Cook, Toshio Yamagishi, Coye Cheshire, Robin Cooper, Masafumi Matsuda, Rie Mashima, Social Psychology Quarterly June 2005. Vol. 68, No. 2: 121-142.
  • “Networks, Norms and Trust: The Social Psychology of Social Capital,” Social Psychology Quarterly. March 2005. Vol. 68, No. 1: 4-14.
  • “Uncertainty and the Emergence of Trust Networks: Implications for Research on the Internet,” Coye Cheshire and Karen S. Cook, Analyse und Kritik, (vol. 28) December 2004: 220-240.
  • “Trust in the Economy,” Karen S. Cook and Alexandra Gerbasi. Encyclopedia of Economic Sociology. 2004.


Back to top