My name is Iris Schneider and I am a professor of Psychology at the University of Cologne. I research ambivalence and difficulty in decision-making and judgment. I am especially interested in how people can use their ambivalence and inner conflict as a tool for better decision-making and self-regulation. You can read a recent blog post about my research on the benefits of ambivalence here or listen to a podcast on the topic here.

The world is a complicated place and issues are often multifaceted and complex. People often face opposing motives, desires, and goals. For instance, people can experience conflict between doing what is healthy vs. what is fun, between doing what’s good for themselves vs. what is good for others, or between liking and disliking another person, policy, or issue. I study the consequences of this inner conflict on cognition and behavior. How do people regulate this conflict? How can people use these experiences to make better decisions and less biased judgments? How do people feel about other people who express feelings of conflict? And what is the role of conflict in promoting sustainability, such as reduction of meat consumption and food waste? In my lab, we empirically examine these questions.