Person: Schneider, Iris

Psychology Today, 01.06.2021 | Susan Krauss Whitbourne

„Being chronically ambivalent may seem to be a maladaptive if not irritating quality. […] As pointed out in a new study by University of Cologne’s Iris Schneider and colleagues (2021), “Ambivalence is at the heart of many topics that people care deeply about.” […] Although ambivalence usually has negative connotations, Schneider and her fellow researchers propose that there can be some concrete benefits. […] [A]s the authors predicted, people higher in ambivalence were less likely to fall prey to […] attributional bias. […] Reflecting on their findings, the authors suggest that the reason ambivalent people are less prey to bias is that “ambivalence leads to broader processing and incorporation of diverse perspectives.””

Opinion Science Podcast, 12.04.2021 | Andy Luttrell & Iris Schneider

„Many topics are complicated and associated with benefits and costs. […] That can make people feel discomfort. […] When they try to resolve that, they might take less than optimal strategies. […] Because you oversimplify the choice, or you make the wrong choice just to make a choice. […] The polarization that we see all across Europe and the U.S. [shows] that maybe having strong attitudes that are only black or only white is not always the best thing.”

PSYCHE, 10.03.2021 | Iris Schneider

Even though ambivalence is a common experience, as a concept it’s frequently misunderstood. It doesn’t mean that you don’t care about something or that you’re indifferent. Ambivalence refers to the presence of strong feelings, but in opposition. […] Apart from making you think more, ambivalence can also make you think better. […] Training yourself to have a more ambivalent mindset will allow you to benefit from more cognitive flexibility and less bias in your ideas and decisions.[…] In fact, feeling ambivalent reflects that you have a balanced and nuanced view of things that’s more in tune with the complexity and multifaceted nature of reality..“

PsyPost, 11.02.2021 | Eric W. Dolan

„People who tend to experience mixed feelings are less likely to fall prey to two common cognitive biases, according to new research published in the British Journal of Social Psychology. […] “I think we live in a time where there is a lot of emphasis on ‘strong’ opinions and people who are very ‘certain’ about their stances, leading to division and polarization,” said study author Iris K. Schneider, a professor of social and economic cognition at the University of Cologne. […] In four studies, Schneider and her colleagues examined the relationship between ambivalence and two cognitive biases. […] “I believe there are benefits to ambivalence, especially in a world that is so polarized,” Schneider added.“

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