Julia Minson

Julia Minson is appointed as 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?

Prior to coming to the Kennedy School, Dr. Minson served as a Lecturer at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, where she taught Negotiations at both the MBA and the undergraduate levels. She received her PhD in Social Psychology from Stanford University and her BA in Psychology from Harvard University. Her work on receptiveness to opposing views and related topics has been published in top academic outlets.
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 MC� � the Minson Conflict and Collaboration Lab.

At the Kennedy School Julia is affiliated with the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, the Center for Public Leadership, and the Taubman Center for State and Local Government. Julia teaches courses on negotiations and decision-making as part of the Management, Leadership and Decision Science area, as well as through HKS Executive Education.

Julia is the organizer of the HKS Conflict Management and Depolarization speaker series, sponsored by the Center for Public Leadership and the Management Leadership and Decision Sciences Area.

Prior to coming to the Kennedy School, Julia served as an Adjunct Lecturer at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, where she taught Negotiations at both the MBA and the undergraduate levels. She received her PhD in Social Psychology from Stanford University and her BA in Psychology from Harvard University.