Videos
Biography
Research Statement
Michal Kosinski’s research focuses on individual differences in behavior, preferences, and performance. Specifically, he is interested in the mechanisms linking psychological traits (such as personality) with a broad range of organizational and social outcomes, including job performance, person-job fit, consumer preferences, and ideology, as well as the expression and recognition of psychological traits from behavioral residues, language, and facial features. Kosinski conducts his research using a range of computational methods, including machine learning, data mining, and observational studies involving millions of participants.
Research Interests
- Individual Differences
- Personality
- Consumer Preferences
- Crowdsourcing
- Psychological Assessment
- Ideology
Bio
Professor Kosinski received his PhD in Psychology from the University of Cambridge (UK) in 2014. He also spent a year as a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Computer Science Department at Stanford University. Kosinski’s research has had a significant impact on both academia and the industry. His findings featured in The Economist’s special report on the future of insurance (2015), inspired two TED talks, and prompted a discussion in the EU Parliament. In 2013, Kosinski was listed among the 50 most influential people in Big Data by DataIQ and IBM, while three of his papers were listed among Altmetrics’ “Top 100 Papers That Most Caught the Public Imagination” (in 2013 and 2015). Prior to entering academia, he founded a successful ITC startup and served as a brand manager for a major digital brand.
Academic Degrees
- Phd in Psychology, University of Cambridge, 2014
- MPhil in Psychometrics, University of Cambridge, 2009
- MSC in Psychology, Warsaw School of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2008
Academic Appointments
- Assistant Professor, Stanford Graduate School of Business 2015
- Postdoctoral Scholar, Computer Science Dept., Stanford University, 2014-2015
- Visiting Lecturer, Department of Mathematics, University of Namur, 2012-2013
Professional Experience
- Deputy Director, University of Cambridge Psychometrics Center, 2010-2014
- Researcher, Microsoft Research, 2010-2014
Awards and Honors
- GSB Trust Faculty Scholar, 2017-2018
- Rising Star, Association for Psychological Science,2015
- Top 100 Papers that Most Caught the Public Imagination (22nd), Altmetrics, 2015
- Open Innovation Award, Accenture, 2015
- One of the Top 50 Most Influential People in Big Data, DataIQ and IBM, 2013
- Top 100 Papers that Most Caught the Public Imagination (9th), Altmetrics, 2013
- Top 100 Papers that Most Caught the Public Imagination (21st), Altmetrics, 2013
Teaching
Degree Courses
2017-18
OB 206: Organizational Behavior
Building on the discipline of social psychology, this course helps you cultivate mindsets and build skills to understand the ways in which organizations and their members affect one another. You will learn frameworks for diagnosing and resolving...
OB 660: Topics in Organizational Behavior: Individual Processes
This course will focus on psychological processes that occur within individuals that cannot be seen but whose existence can be inferred on the basis of people''s behavior. Such processes, referred to as individual processes, include personality,...
2016-17
OB 206: Organizational Behavior
Building on the discipline of social psychology, this course helps you cultivate mindsets and build skills to understand the ways in which organizations and their members affect one another. You will learn frameworks for diagnosing and resolving...
In the Media
Can A.I. Be Taught to Explain Itself?
The New York Times Magazine, November 21, 2017
A Stanford Psychologist Says Internet Culture Isn't as Toxic as It Feels
Quartz, August 19, 2017
C-SPAN, May 19, 2017
Interview with Fredrik Skavlan
Sveriges Television AB, April 8, 2017
Deep-Dark-Data-Driven Politics
WNYC, March 29, 2017
CNN, March 25, 2017
The End of Privacy
Keynote CeBIT '17, March 25, 2017
Tumult in Asia, African Healthcare, Healthy Diets and Depression
BYU radio, March 14, 2017
Is the digital 'you' the real 'you'?
Radio New Zealand, March 4, 2017
Why computers know you better than your spouse – Michal Kosinski on the rise of Big Data
BlindSpot, December 10, 2016
On What Facebook Knows – An Interview with the Man Behind Facebook’s Personality Experiment
SocialMedia Today, October 1, 2015
Can we guess who you are based on the pages you’ve liked on Facebook?
The Washington Post, September 2, 2015
Stanford Worldview, September 2015
Stanford News
Stanford News, August 26, 2015
Documentary
Westdeutcher Rundfunk (WDR), June 15, 2015
Risk and Reward
The Economist, March 14, 2015
When 'Likes' Can Shed Light
The Wall Street Journal , March 11, 2015
Computers Judge Personality Better Than People Do
Huffington Post - Science, January 13, 2015
How Facebook Knows You Better Than Your Friends Do
Wired, January 13, 2015
Your computer knows you better than your friends do, say researchers
The Guardian, January 13, 2015
Facebook understands you better than your spouse
Financial TImes, January 12, 2015
Your computer knows you better than your friends do
Science, January 12, 2015
NBC News, 2015
CBS News, 2015
Predictions based on digital footprint(in German)
WDR, 2015
Assorted Media, 2015
Do-Not-Track, 2015
Video
Elektrischer Reporter, 2015
Zehn Jahre Facebook
Shift- Deutsche Welle, March 2, 2014
BBC4, September 20, 2013
Witamy w Nowych Mediach
Nowe Media, September 2013
With big data comes big responsibility
Financial Times, March 14, 2013
More Privacy Perils: Facebook Data Is Greater Than The Sum Of Your Likes
Forbes , March 12, 2013
Liking curly fries on Facebook reveals your high IQ
Wired UK, March 12, 2013
Facebook reveals secrets you haven’t shared
Financial Times, March 11, 2013
Dni tradycyjnej psychologii są policzone
Psychologia-Speteczna, 2013
The Psychologist, November 2011
Insights by Stanford Business
written10 Most-Read Stories of 2017
December 4, 2017
Readers keyed into humor’s workplace value, the secret to improving communication skills, and advice from Sheryl Sandberg and Marc Andreessen.
audioPodcast: Michal Kosinski Shares his Vision of a World Without Privacy
August 14, 2017
Should your digital footprint be public?
videoMichal Kosinski: AI Is Already Smarter Than We Are
May 9, 2017
In part two of a three part series, a data scientist explores how artificial intelligence developed a mind of its own.
videoMichal Kosinski: Can We Out Evolve Artificial Intelligence?
May 9, 2017
The human mind will outsmart AI in the end, says Michal Kosinski in the final piece of a three part series.
videoMichal Kosinski: The End of Privacy
May 9, 2017
In part one of a three part series, a Stanford GSB professor discusses a controversial algorithm that knows more about you than your best friend.
writtenTurns Out That Opposites Don’t Attract After All
January 17, 2017
A study of “digital footprints” suggests that you’re probably drawn to personalities a lot like yours.
writtenTwelve Business Books to Read in 2017
December 6, 2016
Reading recommendations from the Stanford GSB community.
writtenCan Your Personality Explain Your iTunes Playlist?
July 29, 2016
Researchers find a new way to examine your musical taste, with implications for the music and health care industries.
writtenWill Facebook Replace Traditional Research Methods?
October 8, 2015
Social media offers researchers a window into the human experience.
writtenWhat Our Digital Footprint Says About Us
August 27, 2015
A Stanford scholar says social media reveals your most intimate personality traits.
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