Research Interests

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, ranging from daily hassles, to career choices, to romantic and societal conflicts. 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.

Selected Publications

• Kross, E., & Grossmann, I. (2011, July 4). Boosting Wisdom: Distance From the Self Enhances Wise Reasoning, Attitudes, and Behavior. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1037/a0024158
• Grossmann, I., Ellsworth, P. C., & Hong, Y.-y. (2011, May 30). Culture, Attention, and Emotion. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1037/a0023817
• Grossmann, I. & Varnum, M. E. W. (2011). Culture, social class, and cognition. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2(1), 81-89.
• Grossmann, I. & Kross, E. (2010). The impact of culture on adaptive vs. maladaptive self-reflection. Psychological Science, 21(8), 1150-1157.
• Grossmann, I., Na, J., Varnum, M. E.W., Park, D. C., Kitayama, S. & Nisbett, R.E. (2010). Reasoning about Social Conflicts Improves into Old Age. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 107(16), 7246-7250.