178 - Julia Nolte: Why We Avoid Difficult Decisions

This week, Enna chats with Dr. Julia Nolte, Assistant Professor of Economic Psychology at Tilburg University. Julia’s research examines how information management, risk perception, and decision-making change across adulthood. She is particularly interested in what keeps people, especially older adults, from making well-informed and high-quality decisions, and how we can better support people in making choices that align with their goals and values.

In our conversation, Julia discusses how her early interest in theater sparked her interest in psychology, how she came to study aging and decision-making, and what her work can teach us about information avoidance, decision-making, and the very human challenge of choosing between imperfect options.

Julia’s Website: https://www.julianolte.org/ 

Julia’s X: @Dr_Julia_Nolte

Julia’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-nolte-8aa02b158/ 

Julia’s Paper: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0361073X.2025.2473849 

Enna’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ennayuxuanchen/ 

Enna’s X: @EnnaYuxuanChen

Podcast Contact: stanfordpsychpodcast@gmail.com 

Podcast Twitter: @StanfordPsyPod

Podcast Substack: https://stanfordpsypod.substack.com/ 

Podcast Contact: stanfordpsychpodcast@gmail.com