Social Control and Multiple Discovery in Science The Opiate Receptor Case

Recognition for accomplishment is a major institutional reward in the scientific community, thus regulating disputes over credit for discovery, can be viewed as an important problem in social control. Cozzens examines a well-known dispute -- one that took place with the discovery of the opiate receptor in neuropharmacological research. The issues Cozzens discusses -- priority disputes, social control, and norms and morals -- are important throughout the sciences; they are crucial factors in the lives of scientists, the functioning of scientific communities, and the day-to-day operations of scientific organizations.