Sandra Matz
- David W. Zalaznick Associate Professor of Business
- Management Division
- Areas of Expertise
- Artificial Intelligence (AI), Climate, Consumer Behavior, Decision Making & Negotiations, Leadership & Organizational Behavior, Media
- Contact
- Office: 312 Kravis
- E-mail: [email protected]
Sandra Matz is the David W. Zalaznick Professor of Business at Columbia Business School and the author of Mindmasters.
As a computational social scientist with a background in psychology and computer science, Dr. Matz studies human behavior by uncovering the hidden relationships between our digital footprints and our inner mental lives. Her goal is to make data relatable and help individuals, businesses and policy makers use data in more effective and ethical ways
Over the last ten years Dr. Matz has published more than fifty academic papers in the world’s leading peer-reviewed journals, and her work has frequently been covered by many major news outlets, including the Economist, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Business Insider. In addition, she has shared her findings with business leaders, policymakers, and the broader public through op-eds, keynote speeches, podcasts, TV appearances, and consulting work.
Dr. Matz has won numerous awards for her research and teaching, including the SAGE Early Career Trajectory Award for social and personality psychologists; Poets and Quants’ Best 40-Under-40 MBA professors; Capital Magazine’s Young Elite Top 40 Under 40; World Frontiers Forum Young Pioneers; Pacific Standard Magazine’s Top 30 Thinkers Under 30; and DataIQ’s 100 Most Influential People in Data.
- Education
-
B.Sc, Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg (Germany); Ph.D., University of Cambridge
- Joined CBS
- 2017
All Activities
Journal Article
.
“Participating in a climate prediction market increases concern about global warming.”
Nature Climate Change
vol.
13
,
(June 08, 2023):
523
-531
.
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01677-6
Journal Article
.
“Sensory substitution can improve decision-making.”
(April 23, 2023).
Journal Article
.
“The Managerial Effects of Algorithmic Fairness Activism.”
American Economic Association Papers and Proceedings
vol.
110
,
(May 01, 2020):
85
-90
.
Journal Article
.
“Using Blockchain in Decision-Making that Benefits the Public Good.”
(March 31, 2020).
Journal Article
.
“Using Big Data as a Window into Consumers' Psychology.”
Current Opinion in Behavioral Science
vol.
18
,
(December 01, 2017):
7
-12
.
Journal Article
.
“In a World of Big Data, Small Effects Can Still Matter: A Reply to Boyce, Daly, Hounkpatin, and Wood.”
Psychological Science
vol.
28
,
(March 01, 2017):
547
-550
.
Journal Article
.
“An Integrative Model of Leadership Behaviour.”
The Leadership Quarterly
vol.
28
,
(February 01, 2017):
229
-244
.
Journal Article
.
“Psychological Targeting as an Effective Approach to Digital Mass Persuasion.”
PNAS
vol.
14
,
(January 01, 2017):
12714
-12719
.
Journal Article
.
“Money Buys Happiness When Spending Fits Our Personality.”
Psychological Science
vol.
27
,
(January 01, 2016):
715
-725
.
Journal Article
.
“Facebook as a Research Tool for the Social Sciences: Opportunities, Challenges, Ethical Considerations, and Practical Guidelines.”
American Psychologist
vol.
70
,
(January 01, 2015):
543
-560
.
Journal Article
.
“Personality similarity predicts synchronous neural responses in fMRI and EEG data.”
(August 22, 0022).
Working Paper
Peters, Heinrich, Friedrich Gotz, Tobias Ebert, Sandrine Muller, P. Rentfrow, Samuel Gosling, Marin Obschonka,
Daniel Ames
, Jeff Potter, and
Sandra Matz
.
Regional personality differences predict variation in COVID-19 infections and social distancing behavior. September 22, 2022.
Book
.
Mindmasters: The Data-Driven Science of Predicting and Changing Human Behavior.
Harvard Business Review Press
,
2025.
Chapter
Matz, Sandra and Jacob B. Hirsh
.
“Marketing and Personality.”
In The Wiley Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences
,
Hoboken
:
Wiley
,
2017.
Chapter
.
“Personality-customised Advertising in the Digital Environment.”
In
Routledge International Handbook of Consumer Psychology
,
edited by Cathrine V. Jansson-Boyd and Magdalena J. Zawisza
,
656
-674
.
New York
:
Taylor & Francis
,
2016.
Chapter
.
“Models of Personality.”
In
Emotions and Personality in Personalized Services
,
edited by M. Tkalcic, B. De Carolis, M. de Gemmis, A. Odic, and A. Kosir
,
35
-54
.
New York
:
Springer
,
2016.
Chapter
Behrendt, P. and
Sandra Matz
.
“Wie Sie Probleme lösen statt sie zu fokussieren.”
In Professionnell coachen: Das Methodenbuch
,
edited by A. Ryba, D. Pauw, D. Ginati, and S. Rietmann
,
348
-362
.
Weinheim
:
Beltz
,
2014.
Course
B8510: Managerial Negotiations
Course
B7583: Executive Ethics
Course
B6500: Lead: People, Teams, Organizations
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Article
Mindmasters: The Promise and Peril of Algorithmic Influence
Article
On Our Shelves
Article
Friend or Foe? Big Data as a Window Into Our Psychology
Article
Participating in a Climate Prediction Market Increases Concern About Global Warming
Article
The Psychology of Success: the Personality Traits That Make or Break a Tech Startup
Article
Using Betting Markets to Transform Climate Attitudes and Behaviors
Article
Psychological Targeting
Article
How Intrusive Algorithms Can Become Valuable Allies
Article
GPS Accurately Tracks Your Whereabouts, but Predicting Your Depression Is Much Harder
Article
Be Yourself: Authenticity on Social Media Leads to a Happier Life
Article
The Human Experience of COVID-19
Article
Understanding the Nuances of Big Data
Article
Columbia Bizcast: Professor Sandra Matz
- Case ID
- 230407
Apple's Privacy Paradox
Is Apple's App Tracking Transparency policy a sound company strategy and what limitations might it impose?
- Case ID
- 220402
Memorial Park Negotiation (A and B)
What negotiation tactics will both bring positive results for Memorial Park's Fall Carnival, while preserving a good working relationship between the park's operations team and the outsourced vendor coordinator?