It is a seductively simple idea: human traits, ranging from smoking to loneliness to obesity, are contagious, spreading through social networks like the flu.
When a Harvard professor and a California political scientist made this case in a series of articles published in top academic journals since 2007, their work became front page news and the subject of a popular book, and it quickly disseminated into popular culture.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Critics challenge contagious traits study:Scientists find fault in methods
The Boston Globe reports:
