Jennifer S. Lerner PhD

Dr. Jennifer Lerner is Professor of Public Policy and Management at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government as well as Co-Founder of the Harvard Decision Science Laboratory. Her research draws insights from psychology, economics, and psychoneuroimmunology to elucidate human judgment and decision making. She examines how human feelings influence risk perception, economic transactions, and legal judgments, as well as how authority systems (e.g., accountability) shape judgment and choice outcomes. She also has a developing program of research examining decision-making processes among elite government, military, and corporate leaders.

Lerner’s work has been published in leading scientific journals, including Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and Psychological Science, and has been covered by such media outlets as Good Morning, America; National Public Radio; NOVA; the Wall Street Journal; the Washington Post; and The New York Times. She has received many research awards. Among them is the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) — the highest honor bestowed by the United States government to outstanding scientists and engineers in early stages of their careers. Lerner was also selected to be among the "Sensational 60" honored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) – a group of scientists and engineers who received graduate school fellowships from NSF, and have since gone on to scientific prominence.