Igor Grossmann, MSc, PhD
Lab director
Igor Grossmann is a social-cognitive scientist studying sound judgment and wisdom across cultures. His work utilizes innovative methods at the intersection of big data analytics, psychophysiology, diary surveys, and experiments. Grossmann studied at the University of Freiburg and at the University of Michigan, where he received his Ph.D. in 2012. He is currently an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Waterloo, Canada. His work has been published in such outlets as PNAS, Proceedings of the Royal Academy: B, Perspectives on Psychological Science, Psychological Science, Journal of Experimental Psychology, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and Emotion. His contributions have been recognized through numerous awards (e.g., SAGE Young Scholar award from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Rising Star Award from the Association for Psychological Science, APA Dissertation Award, USERN Prize for Social Sciences). Grossmann is an Associate Editor of the journal Emotion, and co-hosts the “On Wisdom Podcast,” disseminating scientific insights from psychology, philosophy and cognitive sciences to the general public.
Email: igrossma@uwaterloo.ca
Anna Dorfman
Post-doctoral researcher
Anna Dorfman is studying decision making in various social contexts. Her interdisciplinary research combines psychological theory, economic paradigms, and innovative research methods including experimental games and virtual reality, to explore how people reason and make decisions when facing conflicts between selfish and cooperative goals. Anna received her Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Ben-Gurion University in 2016. She was a postdoctoral researcher in Organizational Behavior at the Coller Faculty Management in Tel Aviv University and a lecturer at Achva Academic College, Israel. Currently, Anna is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Waterloo, working with Dr. Igor Grossmann. She has publications in Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Social Psychological and Personality Science, and PLoS ONE, and received multiple scholarships (e.g., Interdisciplinary Research scholarship from Ben-Gurion university, post-doctoral scholarship from Tel Aviv University).
Email: anna.dorfman@uwaterloo.ca
Abdo Elnakouri
Graduate student
Abdo is a third year graduate student in social psychology. Broadly, he is interested in how self-regulation interacts with ideology and group processes. Abdo and Igor Grossmann are examining how ecological threats might lead to a widened scope of what is considered immoral. In another line of research with Ian McGregor, Abdo and Igor are exploring what leads to wisdom in religious contexts. When he's not working, Abdo enjoys traveling, learning, listening to music, and spending time with friends and family.
Email: abdo.elnakouri@uwaterloo.ca
Harrison Oakes
Graduate student
Harrison is a first-year student in the Social Psychology program at the University of Waterloo. He obtained his B.A. (Hon) in Psychology from the University of Winnipeg in 2013. His current research interests encompass themes of social justice, intergroup relations, prejudice, and discrimination. More specifically, he is interested in masculinity threat and homophobia, and the manifestations of internalized homophobia within LGBTQ communities. His current work with Igor examines the impact of social status on wise reasoning, while his future work will investigate potential interventions to improve people’s ability to reason wisely.
Email: hoakes@uwaterloo.ca
