Nick Herrera received his Ph.D. and M.A. in Social Psychology from Stanford University and his B.A. in Psychology from the University of California at San Diego. As a graduate student, he conducted research on emotional contagion, as well as beliefs about birth order differences in intelligence and personality. He worked as an Honors Intern for the F.B.I. and studied the hunting patterns of serial rapists and the criminal profiling of serial killers. He has also conducted research on the interpersonal consequences of shyness; personality traits associated with the experience of sleep paralysis; the fear of missing out; and how and why people flirt. He is interested in real-world examples of extreme and systematic attempts at social influence referred to as brainwashing and mind control. Lastly, he studied painting and drawing for four years at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.