Julia Minson

Julia Minson is a 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 policy-makers from maximizing the benefits of collaboration. This includes research on under-weighting of advice, “wisdom of crowds,” and over-confidence.

Much of Julia’s research is conducted in collaboration with the graduate and post-doctoral members of Constructive Disagreement Lab (CDL). Julia is also the founder of the Constructive Disagreement Project — a project dedicated to disseminating cutting edge research and developing interventions for professionals in government, education, healthcare, and the media.