Károly Takács

Professor

My research interest are the theoretical, experimental and empirical analysis of the dynamics of social networks in relation to problems of cooperation and conflict. I am the running an ERC Consolidator Grant about the role of gossip and reputations.

Short presentation

I received my Ph.D. from the University of Groningen / ICS in 2002. I was an Assistant and later an Associate Professor at the Corvinus University of Budapest, Institute of Sociology and Social Policy till 2019. I spent time at the Collegium Budapest and at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Studies. I was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Groningen / ICS and a Marie Curie Fellow at the University of Brescia, GECS Research Group on Experimental and Computational Sociology.

I founded and led the Research Center for Educational and Network Studies (RECENS) at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. I received the “Lendület” grant of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 2012 on the dynamics of negative ties.

My main publications appeared in:

Advances in Complex Systems, Frontiers in Sociology, Journal of Applied Mathematics, JASSS, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Journal of Early Adolescence, Journal of Research on Adolescence, Journal of Theoretical Biology, Organization Science, Physica A, PLOS One, Research Policy, Scientific Reports, Scientometrics, Social Networks, and Social Psychology Quarterly.

Publications

2026

Márta K Radó, Dorottya Kisfalusi, Anthony A Laverty, Frank J van Lenthe, Jasper V Been, Károly Takács (2026) Social network mechanisms of ethnic inequalities in smoking among adolescents European Journal of Public Health, Article ckaf215 (Article in journal)

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Julia Galantai, Flora Samu, Károly Takács (2026) Gender norms and couples' conversations on childbearing intentions: A spontaneous speech corpus-based text analysis Discourse & Society, Vol. 37, p. 203-225 (Article in journal)

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2025

Károly Takács (2025) Book Review: A Sociology of Humankind: How We Are Formed by Culture, Cooperation, and Conflict in CONTEMPORARY SOCIOLOGY-A JOURNAL OF REVIEWS, vol 54, issue 5, pp 388-390 Contemporary Sociology, Vol. 54, p. 388-390 (Article, book review)

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EVILTONGUE

EVILTONGUE: No Sword Bites So Fiercly as an Evil Tongue? Gossip Wrecks Reputation, but Enhances Cooperation

Social norms in general and norms of cooperation in particular, are the cement of social order in all human societies. The maintenance and enforcement of social norms and of cooperation, however, is not easy as there are tempting individual incentives for norm violations and free riding on the effort of others. In order to manage norms and cooperation, humans have developed institutional as well as informal solutions.

Reputation mechanisms and informal communication about others behind their back (gossip) are certainly among the most important informal management tools. This is puzzling, because according to common wisdom, gossip channels mainly negative and often fictitious information. If it is the case: how can gossip legitimize social order and promote cooperation?

We tackle this puzzle in this project exploiting a wide set of instruments in various environments. We use analytical modeling and agent-based simulation to derive hypotheses and test the consistency of the connection between micro mechanisms and group level outcomes. We test simple hypotheses in small group experiments. We use cutting-edge methodological tools to appropriately analyze the triadic nature of gossip embedded in network flows of information. We utilize dynamic network datasets from primary and secondary school classes, and we gather qualitative and quantitative information from organizations to test conditional hypotheses about the role that gossip plays in reputation and cooperation in different developmental and social contexts of life.

In addition, we apply new communication technologies to explore the hidden world of gossip and the dynamics of reputation in university dormitories. We build and explore a large corpus of spontaneous informal speech for its content in relation to gossip, reputational structure, norms, and cooperation. With the insights gained, we overcome common stereotypes about gossip and highlight how gossip is related to credible reputational signals, cooperation, and social order.

Expected results will help us to outline the conditions that can promote cooperation, and they will help to construct successful prevention strategies for social exclusion and for other potentially harmful consequences of the evil tongue.

Eviltongue

According to common wisdom, gossip channels mainly negative and often fictitious information. If it is the case: how can dishonest gossip and the resulting biased reputations legitimize social order and promote cooperation?

Research

Tackling the spread of cigarettes and alternative nicotine products in social networks

The project will investigate how different nicotine products spread through social networks and how they impact youth usage, both online and offline.

An ancestry-segregated school class friendship network.

Peer influence or discrimination? Understanding the mechanisms behind ethnic differences in school achievement.

This project explores the achievement gaps in schools among students from different ethnic backgrounds. By analysing data from European youth and Swedish registers, we aim to increase awareness of bias in the education system.

Academic works

Representative publications

Takács, K. 2022. A Reputation-Centered Theory of Human Cooperation and Social Organization. Sociologica, 16(2): 11-51. https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1971-8853/14196

Stadtfeld, C., Takács, K., and Vörös, A. 2020. The Emergence and Stability of Groups in Social Networks. Social Networks, 60: 129-145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socnet.2019.10.008.

Takács K. 2002. Social Networks and Intergroup Conflict. ICS Dissertation Series, Groningen. ISBN 90-367-1610-1. http://www.rug.nl/research/portal/en/publications/social-networks-and-intergroup-conflict(d518685a-7f68-4f4f-8f1d-f09f710972de).html

Often cited academic works

Mäs, M., Flache, A., Takács, K., and Jehn, K. A. 2013. In the Short Term We Divide, in the Long Term We Unite: Demographic Crisscrossing and the Effects of Faultlines on Subgroup Polarization. Organization Science, 24: 716-736.

Takács, K., Flache, A., and Mäs, M. 2016. Discrepancy and Disliking Do Not Induce Negative Opinion Shifts. PLOS One, 11(6): e0157948. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0157948

Squazzoni, F., Bravo, G., and Takács, K. 2013. Does Incentive Provision Increase the Quality of Peer Review? An Experimental Study. Research Policy, 42(1): 287-294.

Representative book contributions

• Kisfalusi, D.; Takács, K., and Pál, J. 2019. Gossip and Reputation in Adolescent Networks. In: Giardini, F. and Wittek, R.P.M. (eds.): Oxford Handbook on Gossip and Reputation, Oxford University Press, 359-379.

• Righi, S. and Takács, K. 2017. Parallel versus Sequential Update and the Evolution of Cooperation with the Assistance of Emotional Strategies. In: Cordier, S., Ertur, C., Debarsy, N., Lucas, D., Nemo, F., Poisson, G., and Vrain, C. (eds.): Understanding Interactions in Complex Systems: Toward a Science of Interaction, Cambridge Scholars Publishing. 65-86.

• Takács, K., Squazzoni, F., Bravo, G., and Castellani, M. 2014. Employer Networks, Priming, and Discrimination in Hiring: An Experiment. In: Manzo, G. (ed.): Analytical Sociology: Norms, Actions, and Networks. Wiley & Son, 373-396.

Co-workers

Siddartha Aradhya

Visiting Senior Lecturer

Professor, Head of Division

Elis Carlberg Larsson

Senior Associate Professor

Associate Professor, Docent

Peter Hedström

Professor

Miriam Hurtado Bodell

Adjunct Associate Professor

Satiyabooshan Murugaboopathy

Selcan Mutgan

Assistant Professor

Carl Nordlund

Associate Professor, Docent

Visiting Senior Lecturer

Erik Rosenqvist

Assistant Professor

Alexandra Rottenkolber

Adjunct Associate Professor

News

From left Benjamin Jarvis, Károly Takács and Laura Fürsich.

Gossip helps us work together better

Many associate gossip with malicious rumours. But it doesn’t have to be that way. When it comes to workplaces, gossip is actually something that can help us work together.

Regime oppression brings Hungarian researcher to LiU

Restrictions on academic freedom in Hungary have become so serious that researcher Károly Takács has moved from Budapest to Norrköping and LiU. He brings with him his family and a large part of his research group.

Organisation

Illustration of people surrounded by data

The Institute for Analytical Sociology (IAS)

IAS conduct cutting-edge research on important social, political and cultural matters. The research is sociological - in its original and broadly conceived meaning.

Department of Management and Engineering (IEI)

The Department of Management and Engineering (IEI) strengthens and develops tomorrow’s industry, business world and society by ground-breaking research, education and innovation.

Károly Takács

Short presentation

My main publications appeared in:

Publications

2026

2025

EVILTONGUE

EVILTONGUE: No Sword Bites So Fiercly as an Evil Tongue? Gossip Wrecks Reputation, but Enhances Cooperation

Eviltongue

Research

Tackling the spread of cigarettes and alternative nicotine products in social networks

Peer influence or discrimination? Understanding the mechanisms behind ethnic differences in school achievement.

Academic works

Representative publications

Often cited academic works

Representative book contributions

Co-workers

News

Gossip helps us work together better

Regime oppression brings Hungarian researcher to LiU

Organisation

The Institute for Analytical Sociology (IAS)

Department of Management and Engineering (IEI)

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