PROFILE

Julia Minson, Ph.D., is an associate professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She is a decision scientist with research interests in conflict, negotiations, and judgment and decision making. Her primary line of research addresses the “psychology of disagreement”—how do people engage with opinions, judgments, and decisions that are different from their own?

She explores this theme in the context of disagreement around hot-button, identity-relevant topics, such as conflicts around politics, professional decision making, and lifestyle choices. She is particularly interested in simple, scalable interventions to help people be more receptive to views and opinions they strongly oppose.

Minson also studies group decision making to uncover the psychological biases that prevent managers, consumers, and policymakers from maximizing the benefits of collaboration. This includes research on underweighting of advice, “wisdom of crowds,” and overconfidence.