My research interests revolve around two issues. My main scientific goal is to understand the processes that enable individuals to think and act “wisely,” for instance by using cognitive strategies that facilitate the resolution of social conflicts or by adaptively regulating emotions that undermine their goals and compromise their health. My second goal is to understand how culture shapes affective processes and reasoning, given the mutual constitution of culture and the mind. In order to approach both of these issues, my work targets meaningful real world situations at the intersection of affect and cognition. I explore how age, psychological distance, and social orientation influence emotion regulation, reasoning, well-being, and wisdom, integrating these processes in a broad socio-cultural context.
Kross, E. & Grossmann, I. (in press). Boosting Wisdom: Distance from the self enhances wise reasoning, attitudes and behavior. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.
Although humans strive to be wise, they often fail to do so when reasoning over issues that have profound personal implications. Here we test the hypothesis that psychological distance enhances wise reasoning, attitudes and behavior under such circumstances...
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science - www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1001715107
by Igor Grossmann, Jinkyung Na, Michael E. W. Varnum, Denise C. Park, Shinobu Kitayama, and Richard E. Nisbett It is well documented that aging is associated with cognitive declines in many domains. Yet it is a common lay belief that some aspects of thinking...