Sandra Schneider

Sandra Schneider is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of South Florida, within the College of Arts and Sciences. Her research focuses on judgment and decision making, cognitive psychology, and experimental methodology. She leads the Judgment and Decision Making Lab and has been actively involved in national initiatives such as the Federal Demonstration Partnership.

Her educational background includes a Ph.D. in Cognitive and Neural Sciences, with specialization in cognition (CNS). She has contributed significantly to understanding how framing, affect, and metacognition influence risk-taking and decision accuracy.

Dr. Schneider's research interests span judgment and decision making, framing effects, Bayesian inference, metacognition, and experimental design. Her work explores how people process information under uncertainty, particularly in health and risky contexts. She investigates how subtle changes in how choices are presented—such as survival versus mortality framing—can shift risk preferences and outcomes.

The trend across her recent publications shows a sustained focus on improving decision accuracy through training, refining measurement tools like the FoSOD for offender denial, and analyzing cognitive mechanisms behind real-world decisions. Her work bridges laboratory research with practical applications in health, education, and forensic settings.

Scientific Contributions and Leadership:

• Editor of the 4-volume series Experimental Design in the Behavioral and Social Sciences (Sage, 2013)
• Co-editor of Emerging Perspectives on Judgment and Decision Research (Cambridge University Press, 2003)
• Principal investigator on faculty workload and IRB policy research via the Federal Demonstration Partnership
• Developer of cognitive training modules to improve Bayesian reasoning

Dr. Schneider has advised numerous graduate students, many of whom co-authored peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations with her. Her advising spans topics in risk perception, adolescent health behavior, and statistical cognition. She has not received explicitly mentioned awards in the provided text, but her editorial roles and sustained publication record indicate peer recognition. She is actively engaged in grants related to decision science and research methodology, particularly through federally supported collaborative efforts.

She directs the Judgment and Decision Making Lab at USF, where she mentors students and conducts empirical studies on cognitive processes in decision contexts. The lab investigates framing, numeracy, metacognitive calibration, and the role of emotion in shaping choices.