Mindmasters: The Data-Driven Science of Predicting and Changing Human Behavior

by Sandra Matz

A refreshingly relatable exploration of how algorithms penetrate the most intimate aspects of our psychology, and how we can regain mastery over our lives—from the pioneering expert of psychological targeting.

There are more digital pieces of data than stars in the universe. This data helps us monitor our planet, decipher our genetic code, and take a deep dive into our psychology.

As algorithms become increasingly adept at accessing our minds, they also become more and more powerful at controlling it—enticing us to buy a certain product or vote for a certain political candidate. Some of us say this technological trend is no big deal. Others consider it one of the greatest threats to humanity. But what if the truth is more nuanced and mind-bending than that?

In Mindmasters, Columbia Business School professor Sandra Matz offers a fascinating insider perspective on the art and data-driven science of psychological targeting. By relating her own personal story of growing up in a small village—where few aspects of life remain truly private—to her groundbreaking research in computational psychology, Matz reveals how Big Data offers insights into the most intimate aspects of our psyche and how these insights empower external influence over the choices we make.

Filled with Ted-Talk-like explanations and real-life examples from Matz's research and consulting work, Mindmasters paints a nuanced picture of the power of psychological targeting. Like nosy neighbors, it can be creepy, manipulative, and downright harmful—with scandals like Cambridge Analytica being merely the tip of the iceberg. Yet, like any tight-knit, supportive village community, it also holds enormous potential to help us live healthier and happier lives—for example, by improving our mental health, encouraging better financial decisions, or enabling us to break out of our echo chambers.

With passion and clear-eyed precision, Matz shows us how to manage psychological targeting and redesign the data game in a way that empowers us to take back control and ask more of our personal data.

Mindmasters is a riveting look at what our digital footprints reveal about us, how they're being used—for good and for ill—and how we can gain more control and power over the data that define us.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Science, Artificial Intelligence, Sociology, Technology, Business

240 pages, Hardcover

Published January 7, 2025

About the author

Sandra C. Matz, PhD, is an assistant professor at Columbia Business School in New York City. She was a Visiting Professor of Marketing at University College Dublin, Visiting Researcher at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and Visiting Researcher in the Department of Psychology at the University of Texas-Austin. She holds a PhD in psychology from the University of Cambridge (UK).

Reviews

[Jake Teeny · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone interested in how your data can and IS being used to influence your behavior, check out this book. Learning all of it can be a bit scary, but the author arms with you the knowledge to do something about it. Not to mention, the author is a very talented writer and I found that her personal narrative helped to move the book along and tie in all of the important real-world insights. I have read books on similar topics, but this has quickly become one of my favorites in the area. Definitely worth the read!

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was a fine book outlining how our data is used today and the costs of not having control over it. Just nothing too insightful or that thrilling of a read

[Brandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book insightful and thought-provoking. Matz covers how our personality traits can usually be seen in the words we use in social media, how colors and types of photos posted can also determine the same. Then, she really dives into what data is pulled and how it can determine things about us. If you’re extroverted, would you rather be at a loud coffee shop or a slow paced one? Using things like google search may show us the one we would like most based on things like that. With all of the data our apps are pulling… the point of data safety and ethics are mentioned. Even though some of the points are freaky and very Black Mirror-y, she also focuses on the good that more data collection could give us as demonstrated in Swiss collection of medical data — but I doubt that would work in capitalist USA.

If you’re a fan of Dan Ariely or Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, you’ll probably enjoy this one.

Thank you, Net Galley and Harvard Business Review Press for a freeadvanced copy in exchange for a review.

[Wallace McKenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting read on the world of data science, personal data and how algorithms are constantly getting better and the author proposes some interesting ways (data villages) to help ensure peraonl data is protected. Even though the book is less than 12 months old, the advances in AI technology futher complicate data usage and societal impacts. The authors website (https://www.mindmasters.ai/) has additional information a few personality tests.

[Daniela Georg · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting book on Big Data and its potential implications to society

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing extraordinary or insightful.

No regrets getting though it nevertheless.

[Michael McCormick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Professor Matz has written an imminently readable and thoughtful book with much going for it, especially the multimedia aspects that she includes throughout "Mindmasters" not to mention her exposition on the ways that the ideas of "federated learning" and "data co-ops" could improve matters for us with respect to our digital data and privacy.

Look, this book is so readable, that despite that I bought it when it came out in January, 2025 (and how psyched I am to have read at least one book that has been published so far in this year that we're in, 2025) and have just read it now, I finished it basically in one day, which is awesome when you think about it, because with a subtitle as intimidating as "The Data-Driven Science of Predicting and Changing Human Behavior," it's cool to be able to say that Professor Matz's writing style, and how she integrates all those fun QR Codes and her website to take the personality quiz (which I eventually was able to get to work), makes her book a pleasure to read, and on top of all that, super meaningful.

Dear reader: take that above paragraph to heart: there's no reason to be intimidated by this book! We all know that Professor Matz edited "The Psychology of Technology: Social Science Research in the Age of Big Data" and that that text costs $87.99 on bn.com. But really, this "Mindmasters" is, in my opinion, her book for everyone and costs only $30.00. And it has a great index, so please, get a copy for yourself! And read it right away!

Professor Matz advocates for anti-trust regulators to break up the big tech giants like Alphabet (Google), Amazon and, now "Meta," and others in order to return some digital data ownership back to individuals and the public, and I remember hearing about that stuff, perhaps during the Biden administration, and she makes a convincing case, and although I wonder why this hasn't happened here already, I think of one word, "China."

I think of all those huge Chinese internet companies like Ten Cent and WeChat and Alibaba, and I think, compared with the all-inclusive nature of those companies' services, especially WeChat, which is just waiting to be used by the PRC to spy and lord over the billion plus Chinese people, that America's internet company landscape looks well diversified, by comparison.

And I am super grateful to Professor Matz for the "meta-messages" in her book, especially her take away about agreeableness and financial wellbeing not being highly correlated, etc. etc., as well as the matter of her German self being married to an Israeli fellow, which is great for German/Jewish rapprochement (in addition to that I am sure that they both love each other and are madly in love with each other.)

You know but look. I speak from experience: Professor Matz doesn't know the half of it. Talking about people like Edward Snowden, you know, the traitor now living in Moscow as some sort of "whistleblower"? Yes, please think that. I wish that I could go on, but my "agreeableness" warnings light up insofar as I know where that "agreeableness" comes from in my "nature vs. nurture" story, so I clam up. It's another matter of being very wary, even of Professor Matz, despite how great her book is for connecting what is going on in digital privacy matters and how they are analogous to her village upbringing in Vogishiem.

Nevertheless: "Mindmasters" is a very important book with issues that should concern us all and recommendations, the most profound of which for me was simply to pass laws (a nudge) that would require citizens to "opt out" of digital privacy measures rather than "opt in," and which make "Mindmasters" a requirement to read for all of us. I'm going to check into "mePrism" and see about taking back some of my digital privacy, by taking back my data, because, as Professor Matz describes it, those algorithms out there are insidious, to say the least. And this is the USA, not even China (yet), despite having Trump as President for the second time.

And that, I think, may perhaps be the line in "Mindmasters" that sticks out the most for me: "In 1938 Germany was a democracy. In 1939, it wasn't." And how she wrote that "Data is permanent. Leadership is not." And how a simple religious affiliation question in Holland's records led to the Nazis ability to murder 78% of Jews there, whereas in France, which had no such question, 25% perished, far less, which doesn't make anything even remotely less horrific. Data is dangerous, and we ALL need to be concerned with it, with everything from where it is stored to how it is used, just like Professor Matz says.

[Ibrahim Abouzied · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eye opening read that left me wishing for a little more.

Mindmasters is a dive into personality profiling, how algorithms can use your data to predict your behavior and cater your experience. Matz is one of the leading scientists in the field, being one of the main correspondents in Facebooks Cambridge Analytica debacle. Her perspective felt really nuanced, she was both excited about the power of big data and how it can give us better experience, while also being wary of data privacy and ownership.

For me, Part 1, which gives different demonstrations of personality profiling, was the most profound part of the book. Matz gives an example where she helped ad campaigns skyrocket sales by catering ads according to user's predicted Big 5 personality traits. It got me thinking, why don't I cater my OWN experience? I'll be experimenting with filling out the ChatGPT custom instructions settings with my own personality traits for it to use to better serve me in whatever way possible.

It was also surreal seeing how the same personality trait in different people still bubbles up to create the same behavior. It sounds obvious, otherwise it wouldn't be a personality trait, but seeing the word clouds of extraverted vs introverted, boys vs girls, rich vs poor, etc, it was like seeing different pockets of the human experience manifested. It left me strongly desiring a way to be able to algorithmically travel to other corners of the internet. Algorithms curate all of our feeds, and it's surprisingly hard to foray from my 27 year old tech bro feed to see what the feeds of a NYC boss girl or Deep South pastor look like. Hell, even just adjacent niches. I want more power over my exploration!

As for the remainder of the book, the discussion around the importance of data privacy and future of data ownership was a bit harder to get immersed in. And I think Matz realizes this herself. She has a whole chapter on why we can't get people to care about their data privacy.

I do think that by the end, she kiiinda had me on board, particularly after the exploration of data co-ops. The idea of me and a couple of buddies rallying together our data to glean insights for us sounds a lot more appealing than corporate conglomerates harvesting our data without any direct compensation.

With all that said, I was personally far more interested in the insights into human psychology that can be gleaned from data as opposed to the political climate that this is all cocooned in.

My main critique is that the science felt watered down, which frustrates me because Matz seems to be a notable scientist in this area! The book is accessible and truly is a very easy read, my grandma could read it just fine, but it felt like a wasted opportunity.

I'd recommend the book to anyone who is interested in the topic of big data AND is looking for a lighter accessible read. The book is exactly as long as it needs to be given the tone she chose.

[Srinivasan Tatachari · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had mis-anticipated the content of this book when I requested for a review copy on Netgalley. As always Harvard Business School Publishing has promptly released the book for my review - Thank you!

I loved the book - so much that I covered it in the time I normally cover thriller fiction. There is so much going on in every page of this book. So many facts related to our interactions with the online world, and what that means today, and what it will mean tomorrow! Many of the insights covered by Sandra are not known to most of us when we are happily using location services, credit cards and other tools of convenience. We are mostly paying with our data to the obvious and not so obvious intermediaries in the whole process.

She covers how one can be easily profiled based on our posts and tweets online - and adding location, purchases etc a digital detective can easily reconstruct over identity and who we are as a person! She highlights how companies/labs can easily use such data shared inadvertently online, to psychologically target us. Though not completely reversing thought processes but planting seeds of an opposite thought. This can possibly have implications on things we buy or people we vote for, not overnight, but repeated messaging.

She cleverly lays down both the good and the bad sides of allowing data about us to be available for use online - there are benefits from helping us with mental, financial, safety aspects while we can lose so much more when it is used for bad. She suggests the need for more finer control over the privacy and data about users, and advocates the idea of data cooperatives where users can choose what data they share and gain benefits to the extent they share data. This is quite an interesting way to take care of this matter.. The way technology is evolving, the need for discussions on this aspect becomes very crucial - as we are already seeing with the overwhelming use of genAI in the last year!

In summary I found this to be an insightful book, covering my interest area of human behaviour and technology in one stroke. Highly recommend you to go through it.

[Darya · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Mindmasters" by Sandra Matz is a thought-provoking and timely exploration of how Big Data and psychological targeting shape our modern lives. Matz, a professor at Columbia Business School, masterfully blends personal storytelling with cutting-edge research to shed light on the deep and often unseen ways algorithms influence our behaviors, emotions, and decisions.

What makes this book stand out is its balanced approach. Rather than demonizing technology or glorifying its potential, Matz presents a nuanced, engaging view of psychological targeting. She draws from real-life examples and groundbreaking studies to explain how algorithms—like those used in marketing and politics—are not only penetrating our most intimate thoughts but also helping us make healthier and more informed decisions.

Her clear and relatable style makes complex concepts like computational psychology and behavioral prediction easy to understand. The book is packed with fascinating insights, from the infamous Cambridge Analytica scandal to more positive uses of data, such as improving mental health and promoting financial well-being. Matz takes readers on a journey that makes you rethink what’s really happening behind the scenes in the digital world.

What I found particularly compelling is Matz's focus on empowerment. While the book highlights the potential dangers of data-driven targeting, it also offers hope by showing how we can regain control over our data and personal choices. She provides actionable strategies for navigating the digital landscape in a way that allows us to harness the benefits of these tools while protecting our autonomy.

"Mindmasters" is an essential read for anyone curious about the intersection of technology, psychology, and privacy. Matz not only opens our eyes to the hidden forces influencing us but also equips us with the knowledge to take back mastery over our lives. It's a brilliant, insightful book that will leave you questioning how much of your daily life is shaped by algorithms—and how you can regain control.

[Moran Cerf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I read the book in one seating. It's fascinating, eye-opening, engaging, and extremely well-written. Highly recommended.

Thought-provoking ideas combined with a very clever take on the science of predicting human behavior using data (which some say is the most critical topic to our society nowadays). I truly recommend this book to everyone.

As a bonus for myself, I also listened to the audiobook. Very accessible and recommended as well.

The book contains many interesting stories about the ways data are being used to predict personality traits and an exciting discussion on how we should use data wisely in the era of AI.

I particularly liked the access to the behind-the-scenes of some of the most intriguing data stories of recent years (Cambridge Analytica, Apple privacy, and others).

I also liked the fact that the book deviates from the classic 'gloom and doom' narrative that the data collected about us are always used in a bad way. The book actually offers some concrete use cases that can _better_ our world using smart algorithm applications (how to save more money, how to mitigate mental disorders, etc).

The book is based on the author's decade-long research on the ways by which data can be used to understand us intimately. The gist: our digital footprint can be a gateway to uncovering our psyche. It explains the science in a very pragmatic and tangible way.

The book is divided to 3 parts.

Part 1 explains how data can be used to understand us (at times, better than we understand ourselves).

Part 2 then details the risks and opportunities afforded to us by the new wave of highly personalized targeting.

Part 3 talks about how we can use the data and algorithms generated these days to make our lives better. It beautifully balances optimism with a sobering view of our future.

I particularly loved how the book explains the science in a very pragmatic and tangible way.

I cannot recommend it enough.

[Sekar Writes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever thought about the traces you leave behind, not only on social media, but in the small habits and choices you make every day? This book talks about those unconscious breadcrumbs we scatter in our daily lives, such as our preferences, routines, and even seemingly minor actions, and how they reveal more about us than we might realize.

The main focus of the book is psychological targeting, a fascinating (and admittedly unsettling) technology that uses our digital footprints to predict our personalities and behaviors. It walks you through how computers analyze these tiny clues and explains why this growing technology should matter to everyone.

What stood out to me most was how the author connects these insights to our everyday lives. If you thought avoiding social media was enough to guard your privacy, this book will challenge that belief. It shows how society has quietly embraced ways of tracking us that extend far beyond what happens online. Honestly, it’s unnerving to think about how much can be uncovered about us just from our daily routines.

The book touches on potential solutions, calls “returning to the village.” I found this idea refreshing, though the book only talk about the tip of it. I wish it had explored it much further.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a world where our data is often used to manipulate, sell, and profit from us, Sandra Matz asks a groundbreaking question: What if your data could work for you? What if it could help you thrive, build meaningful relationships, and navigate life with greater clarity and purpose?

Mindmasters is more than a critique of the current system—it’s a bold, actionable vision for how data can elevate humanity. Matz doesn’t just imagine a world where technology supports our well-being; she shows how we can get there. Her ideas are rooted in science but aimed at something profoundly human: empowering individuals to take control of their lives and build a better future.

This isn’t theory or science fiction—it’s a roadmap to a world where technology serves humanity instead of exploiting it. If you’ve ever questioned the way data is used today or dreamed of technology as a force for good, Mindmasters is the guide you need.

[Beatrice Tibaldini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Technology is an amazing tool for understanding each person. We can find a lot of information if we look at social network profiles or search engine results. For example, a particularly colorful feed suggests a certain personality type, while choosing a noisy bar over a quieter one is a sign of something else. This leads to interesting arguments about data and its use and what implications it may conceal.

Matz spent 10 years researching, talking to people and collecting info about the pros and cons of having all this data online. In the book, he shares some thoughtful advice, calm ideas, and a few more alarmist points.

The writing style is really positive, calm, clear, and objective, which makes it easy to dive into the complex issues.Overall, it's a thorough and interesting look at the behind-the-scenes data that we all help to enrich every day with our online presence.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

[Michael Slepian · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the words you use online, what you search for on Google, what you like on Facebook, and what you buy online, we leave digital footprints over the web that reveal who we are. Sometimes, the people who see our data know us better than we know ourselves. This presents opportunities for better business (targeted advertising, which can be creepy for the consumer), but also better health (personalized health apps) and better living (personalized financial advice). At the same, this poses huge questions and potential for scandal: What about my privacy? Am I being influenced against my will? Sandra Matz, a leading expert in Big Data and human behavior, answers these big questions, revealing new insights into who we are, how we reveal ourselves online and in our data, and how we can take control over that data. A fascinating and new look at human behavior, and relevant reading to us all!

[Jonathan James · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book blew me away. Sandra Matz takes this crazy complex topic about how algorithms basically read our minds through data and makes it totally gripping. She nails the sweet spot between "this is kinda scary" and "wow, this could actually help people" - showing how data tech isn't just about manipulation, but could seriously improve stuff like mental health and decision-making.

The Cambridge Analytica stories alone are jaw-dropping. But what makes this book special is Matz doesn't just doom-and-gloom everything - she gives real, practical insights into understanding our digital selves. I literally couldn't stop reading and kept interrupting my partner to share weird facts.

Highly recommend!

[Eli Finkel · Rating 5 out of 5]

MINDMASTERS is an essential read. Few of us realize just how pervasively we're being surveilled, and even fewer of us appreciate the implications of that surveillance.

This is a scary world, but also an exciting one -- and Sandra Matz (professor at the Columbia Business School) manages to be both sober and enchanting as our tour guide. Wielding the tools of science, philosophy, and wisdom (including much of her own research), she reveals how our digital traces provide a window into our psychology, addresses the bright and dark sides of psychological targeting, and explains how we (as individuals and as a collective) can make our data work for us.

Rare is the book that is both profoundly important and a pleasure to read. Don't miss this one.

[Kalyan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is one of the finest and simplest books that made complete sense. I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator's voice was simple, without any unnecessary modulations or fake smiles. It’s a relatively short book to listen to, and there were many moments when I felt like I already knew the concepts. However, Sandra takes you a level deeper with some aha moments that make things click.

I didn’t find it alarmist; instead, it presents a perspective of "look at what you’re getting into." It’s not about the nefarious intentions of companies or devices but rather about how they can be used, depending on the user’s intent. And realistically, there’s very little—if anything—you can do about it.

A nice, light read (or listen) for passing the time, especially if you enjoy such book

[Nancy Harper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mindmasters examines the myriad types of data that are being collected on us every day. Then it delves into how corporations are interpreting this data - essentially categorizing us - and then using it to target us psychologically, based on the composition of our profiles. The author was one of the first researchers to study this kind of psychological targeting, and thus she is a wellspring of reliable information. I found this to be extremely eye-opening, and will be re-evaluating my own digital footprint. Fascinating look at the potentially lasting consequences of what we thought were minor decisions. Everyone should read this. Awareness is key!

[Susan Cain · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for all social science lovers! Mindmasters is an engaging, insightful and smart exploration of the human side of data. It illuminates how algorithms can penetrate our psychology by studying the digital breadcrumbs of our existence - from our social media posts and Google searches to our credit card spending and the sensors embedded in your smartphone. And it discusses how this ability can be used - for better or worse - to influence our behavior. Mindmasters is filled with examples that help readers relate to the more technological aspects, and it offers a nuanced discussion of the bright and dark sides of technology!

[Alexandre Daly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good! Not a lot of new information, but hit one some interesting things. I liked the point that saving data may seem innocuous now, but we never know what will some day become protected information (e.g. because France did not track ethnicity but Netherlands did, far fewer French Jews died in the Holocaust than Dutch Jews). Also, there were some interesting suggestions on how we could leverage data co-ops to allow people to benefit from their own data. It had similarities to The Ministry of the Future's YouLock.

This book was an interesting, light read, but don't read it with expectations of too much insight.

[Daniel Fell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A super timely book and an important topic. Some of the applications described in the book almost seem quaint compared to the big data and predictive capabilities I've seen first-hand as a marketing and advertising professional, but the underlying premise of finding ways to big data for good, and finding new approaches to protecting our personal data, couldn't be more relevant in today's data-driven, AI enabled world. I highly recommend reading and attending a talk by Professor Matz as she is an entertaining speaker as well.

[Kevin Stecyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Fascinating Book on Our Digital Breadcrumbs

Mindmasters is a fascinating book because Sandra Matz explains how much digital data we provide and how others can exploit that data.

While I always knew that we reveal ourselves far more than we want, I did not fully appreciate that companies now know ourselves better than we do and are taking advantage of their knowledge. Even more concerning, companies and other entities, using our personality profiles, can easily manipulate us.

We should all be aware of our digital information and how it may be used.

[Yixi Chen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the insights into how big data reveals the most intricate parts of ourselves! For all of us who love fun online games like“how does the food you like reveal your personality”, the book offers rigorous yet accessible insights into how our digital footprints reveals and predict our personality, behavioral patterns, etc.
Plus, Dr. Matz’s writing is so engaging! Feel like a dear friend just telling you stories over coffee, and you keep asking —“wait what?!”

[Michael Schield · Rating 5 out of 5]

The examples and stories in the book really bring home what is happening with the huge amount of information being collected on anyone with a smartphone today. I was really glad that the book included an approach to counter the loss of control of our data that we are experiencing at the hands of massive online corporations like Google and Meta. I hope that Sandra and her research results can help bring about a change in the way our data is handled and who benefits from it.

[Jamie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I want to give it a 2.5 because there were typos and grammatical errors throughout which I believe is unacceptable for a $30 book. However, it was thought provoking and covers a subject we should all be more interested in. Not sure I would recommended it to anyone because it’s basically stuff we already know.

It’s cool to think about the implications of our digital footprint and how it can/could be used to influence our behavior, for better or for worse.

[Max Struever · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a software engineer and thoroughly enjoyed this (as an audiobook)
Part 1 is a good primer on machine learning if that is new.
Parts 2 and 3 go into what some of the concerns are but also the possibilities.
There are some aspirational calls on govt and companies for drastric changes to help improve privacy and safety, but good points to make

We had the pleasure of getting to speak with Sandra after reading it for our book club

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was interesting. I learnt new things about data management, our digital lives and what it tells people. There is also a hint of the positive that all this data could be used for. I am looking forward to hearing about the next steps in this data evolution. Thank you to the author for sharing. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher.

[Jess Seko · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never realized how ignorant I was to how our personal information is being used by companies and corporations to both profit and influence our behavior. This is a must-read for anyone who doesn't want to go through life with the word "sucker" written on their forehead. Everybody needs to know the value of the information they contribute to the machine.

[Hudson Hoyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mindmasters is a fascinating and eye-opening read that shows how our thoughts and behaviors are shaped in the digital age. Matz breaks down big ideas about data, psychology, and tech in a way that’s super engaging and easy to follow. It’s both insightful and a little mind-blowing—perfect for anyone!