Maria Konnikova

Maria Konnikova is a Russian-American writer and journalist, who primarily writes about psychology and literature. 2Early life Konnikova was born in Moscow, Russia in 1984, and arrived in the United States with her parents when she was four years old. Her family left the Soviet Union after the former nation's borders were opened to allow Jews to move to Israel; however, the Konnikovs chose to settle in the state of Massachusetts, outside of Boston, where she attended Acton-Boxborough Regional High School. Affected by the propaganda experienced in the Soviet Union, Konnikova's parents decided to live without a television following their emigration. While studying psychology and creative writing at Harvard University, she was mentored by psychologist and popular author Steven Pinker. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard, which was the only college that she applied for. Konnikova then obtained her Ph.D. in psychology from Columbia University. As a doctoral candidate at Columbia, her student profile stated she was interested in "self-control ability and decision making." 2Career Following her graduation from Harvard, she worked as a producer for the "Charlie Rose" show on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Konnikova also wrote the "Literally Psyched" column for Scientific American and the psychology blog "Artful Choice" for Big Think, both of which she is no longer involved with. Her writing has also appeared in publications such as The Atlantic, Slate, The Paris Review and The New Republi