Julia Minson

Julia Minson is an Associate Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She is a decision scientist with research interests in conflict management, negotiations, and judgment and decision making. Her main line of research addresses the “psychology of disagreement”: How do people engage with opinions, values, and judgments that conflict with their own?

She is the author of How to Disagree Better: a science-based look into the power of disagreement and the counterintuitive secret to a life of less drama and more impact. Through original research and case studies, she reveals that people who know how to disagree are better decision-makers, peacemakers, and influencers—and she shows you how to develop that skill to reach better outcomes both at home and at work.

Julia’s work examines disagreements around hot-button, identity-relevant topics: conflicts around politics, values, and professional and health decision-making. She is interested in simple, scalable interventions to help people become more receptive to the opposing views of others. She 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 the under-weighting of advice, “wisdom of crowds,” and overconfidence.

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.