Studying human behavior and social systems at scale.

CRiSS-LAB combines computational social science, network science, experiments, and AI to understand how people interact, learn, remember, cooperate, form preferences, and make decisions.

From collective memory and online behavior to education, institutions, and human–AI systems, we connect fundamental research with tools and evidence for real-world problems.

Welcome to CRiSS-LAB

CRiSS-LAB is an interdisciplinary computational social science laboratory at Universidad del Desarrollo in Santiago, Chile, directed by Cristian Candia, Ph.D. We study human behavior and social systems using large-scale data, experiments, network science, statistical modeling, causal inference, and artificial intelligence.

Our research spans collective memory and attention, cooperation and learning, social networks, preferences and decision-making, computational models of human heterogeneity, and the interaction between people and AI. We also turn research into applied platforms and evidence for education, science, organizations, public-interest technology, and other real-world settings.

Cristian Candia, Ph.D.
Director of CRiSS-LAB.

What we study

From individual behavior to collective dynamics.

We use computation, experiments, networks, and artificial intelligence to study how human behavior scales into patterns across groups, institutions, and societies.

01

Human and collective behavior

Memory, attention, cooperation, learning, preferences, social interaction, and decision-making across individuals and groups.

View research
02

AI, computation, and human representation

How computational models and AI capture human judgments, heterogeneity, systematic errors, and collective preferences.

View research line
03

Institutions and real-world systems

We connect fundamental research with education, science, organizations, public debate, markets, and digital platforms.

View projects

People Behind CRiSS-LAB

Researchers, students, and Data & AI professionals building computational social science from Chile.

Our team connects theory, data, and applied technology to study collective memory, learning, cooperation, and decision-making in real social systems.

Research Data & AI Education Policy Complex systems
View team Collaborate with us
Cristian Candia Diego Ramirez Ignacio Ormazábal Jessica Espinoza Lucas Sanhueza Melanie Oyarzún

News & Media

Research Today examined the limits of moral language on social media
International coverage of moral relevance, message saturation and audience engagement.
Sep 21, 2026 1 min read
Source Document
Cooperativa Ciencia covered the study on moral-language saturation
Coverage of Cristian Candia and colleagues’ study of moral language and engagement on social media.
Sep 7, 2026 1 min read
Source Document
Commenti Memorabili shared the moral-language study with Italian readers
The Italian article explains moral saturation while distinguishing observed associations from causal effects.
Sep 3, 2026 1 min read
Source Document
CRiSS-LAB presented four studies at IC2S2 2026
UDD Engineering covered the laboratory’s presentations and academic visits to MIT, Northeastern and Northwestern.
Aug 11, 2026 1 min read
Source Document
UDD Engineering features the Codex for Data Science workshop
The institutional coverage highlights Cristian Candia’s presentation on agent architectures for scientific research.
Jul 29, 2026 1 min read
Source Document
UDD Engineering features the Codex for Data Science workshop
Cristian Candia awarded ANID-FONDECYT Regular 2026 grant
The project Collective Memory Decay in Science positions CRiSS-LAB around how science remembers, forgets, and corrects retracted knowledge.
Feb 25, 2026 1 min read
Source Document
See all posts

Talks

Scientific metadata for R&D&I collaboration
Miguel Guevara (Universidad de Playa Ancha) presents ApiRipa and EqMetrics: tools to connect research teams with industry, and opportunities for research using scientific metadata. September 30, 2026, 15:00 Santiago time, online.
Sep 30, 2026 3:00 PM Online, via Zoom
Join via Zoom
Scientific metadata for R&D&I collaboration
Codex for Data Science: working with agents [Video]
Cristian Candia presented his agent-based research workflow at UDD’s Codex for Data Science workshop. Recording and materials available.
Jul 20, 2026 9:00 AM — 3:00 PM UDD Santiago and online livestream
Slides Video Workshop materials UDD news
Codex for Data Science: working with agents [Video]
Boundaries of Belonging in Memory, Politics, and Schools [Keynote]
Keynote at the Computational Social Science Satellite of the Conference on Complex Systems 2025 in Siena.
Sep 4, 2025 12:00 AM Siena, Italy
UDD coverage
Boundaries of Belonging in Memory, Politics, and Schools [Keynote]
Neural Network Nominate: Mapping Mass Political Ideology via Revealed Preferences [Best Lightning Talk Award]
Award-winning lightning talk at the Conference on Complex Systems 2025 in Siena, presenting an interpretable neural-network approach to mapping mass political ideology from pairwise policy preferences.
Sep 2, 2025 10:30 AM — 11:00 AM Siena, Italy
CCS 2025 Lightning Talks UDD coverage
Neural Network Nominate: Mapping Mass Political Ideology via Revealed Preferences [Best Lightning Talk Award]
Complexity Global School for Emerging Political Economies 2025 [Invited Faculty]
Invited faculty participation in the Santa Fe Institute and Universidad de los Andes Complexity Global School in Bogotá.
Jul 28, 2025 12:00 AM — Aug 8, 2025 11:59 PM Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
UDD coverage
Complexity Global School for Emerging Political Economies 2025 [Invited Faculty]
Quantifying student behavioral patterns and roommate peer effects [Charla Virtual]
Abstract: [ENG] Vast amounts of data are becoming increasingly available to capture social processes at large scale and in great detail. Meanwhile, the rapid development of AI and computational approaches offers powerful toolkits for analyzing various data.
Jul 12, 2024 10:00 AM Zoom Meeting
PDF Code
Quantifying student behavioral patterns and roommate peer effects [Charla Virtual]
Social Networks Predict the Emergence of Technologies. [Virtual Talk]
Abstract: [ENG] In this talk, I will provide an overview of the research we did in the past decade to better understand how technological innovations emerge, spread, and decline in social networks.
Dec 1, 2023 11:00 AM CRiSS-LAB, UDD, Las Condes, Chile.
Social Networks Predict the Emergence of Technologies. [Virtual Talk]
Contextualized Construct Representation: Leveraging Psychometric Scales to Advance Theory-Driven Text Analysis. [Virtual Talk]
Abstract: [ENG] Over the past decades, text-analysis methods have been slowly integrated into the repertoire of methods used to reliably measure psychological constructs. Yet, many of the existing computational methods in psychological text analysis remain atheoretical and lack the interpretability that social sciences are accustomed to and desire.
Nov 3, 2023 11:00 AM CRiSS-LAB, UDD, Las Condes, Chile.
Contextualized Construct Representation: Leveraging Psychometric Scales to Advance Theory-Driven Text Analysis. [Virtual Talk]
See all events