Nikolay BPetrov
Connection with|
About
Education

PhD, Psychology
2023 – presentUniversity of Cambridge
Rediscovering Personality using Large Language Models

MSc Psychological Research Methods
2020 – 2021University of Oxford
Distinction

BSc Psychology
2016 – 2020University of Greenwich
First class, top of the class
Experience

Research Assistant
March, 2023 – presentForecasting Research Institute
Identification of super-forecasters

Research Assistant
June 2021 – Feb, 2023Cardiff University
Cognition and Computational Brain lab

Research Assistant
Mar, 2021 – Sep, 2023University of Cambridge
Personality and Social Dynamics lab

Research Assistant
Nov, 2017 – Oct, 2020University of Greenwich
Super Recognisers Greenwich lab
Research
Publications
Robinson, O. C., Petrov, N., Vleioras, G., Çok, F., Özdoğan, H. K., Yeler, Z., ... & Fisher, A. (2025). Quarter-life Crisis Episodes in Emerging Adulthood: a mixed-methods analysis of data from eight countries. Emerging Adulthood, 13(6), 1491-1506.
LinkPetrov, N. B., Lim, V., Fillon, A., & Feldman, G. (2025). Values and the dark side: Meta-analysis of links between Dark Triad traits and personal values. Under Review.
LinkPetrov, N. B., Serapio-García, G., & Rentfrow, J. (2024). Limited ability of LLMs to simulate human psychological behaviours: a psychometric analysis. arXiv preprint arXiv:2405.07248.
Linkde Leeuw, J. R., Gilbert, R. A., Petrov, N., & Luchterhandt, B. (2023). Simulating Behavior to Help Researchers Build Experiments. Behaviour Research Methods, 55(4), 1863-1873.
LinkPetrov, N. B., Chan, Y. K. M., Lau, C. N., Kwok, T. H., Chow, L. C. E., Lo, W. Y., Song, W., & Feldman, G. (2023). Sunk Cost Effects for Time Versus Money: Replication and Extensions Registered Report of Soman (2001). International Review of Social Psychology, 36(1): 17, 1–18.
LinkPetrov, N., Robinson, O., & Arnett, J. J. (2022). The Developmental Crisis Questionnaire (DCQ-12): Psychometric Development and Validation. Journal of Adult Development, 29(4), 265-278.
LinkPetrov, N., Atanasov, V., & Thompson, T. (2022). Open-source MUltiple tests corrections and FOrmatted tables Software (MUFOS). Journal of Open Research Software, 10(1), 5.
LinkNoyes, E., Davis, J., Petrov, N., Gray, K.L.H, & Richie, K. (2021). The effect of face masks and sunglasses on identity and expression recognition with super-recognizers and typical observers. Royal Society Open Science, 8(3).
LinkDavis, J. P., Dray, C., Petrov, N., & Belanova, E. (2021). Low prevalence match and mismatch detection in simultaneous face matching: Influence of face recognition ability and feature focus guidance. Attention, Perception & Psychophysics, 83(7), 2937–2954.
LinkPetrov, N., & Robinson, O.C. (2019, May). What do dreams really mean? The relationship between dream content, age, recent experienced emotions and crisis episodes in adults. Poster session presented at the British Psychological Society Annual Conference, Harrogate, UK.
LinkProjects

jsPsych Simulation Mode
Contributing to the open-source jsPsych framework by developing a simulation mode for automated experiment testing.

MUFOS
MUltiple tests corrections and FOrmatted tables Software - free, easy-to-use software for statistical corrections.

Qualtrics
4+ years of advanced Qualtrics experience, managing participant pipelines, custom implementations, and community contributions.

Dreams
Investigating the relationship between dreams, emotions, and adult development through BPS-funded research.
Blog

Monkeys all the way up - Adults don't exist
Your idols are fumbling through life just like you. Steve Jobs, Mozart, Newton — all monkeys having a go at their own life puzzle.

Homelabbing: The Beginning
How a £25 Google Drive bill led me down a rabbit hole of self-hosting and discovering the world of homelabbing.

Proxies: How Useful Shortcuts can Lead you Astray
We use proxies like age for wisdom or credentials for competence—but in decisions that truly matter, we must optimize for what we actually want.

The Drug of Emotional Extremes: From Italy to Situationships
How cycling between emotional highs and lows can hook us like an addiction—and what to do about it.

Hypothetical vs Abstracted Situations
Why hypothetical scenarios can mislead us, and how abstracted situations draw on real experience to guide better decisions.

Great Taste: The Creative Edge in Creative Endeavours
The most important skill great artists possess isn't technique—it's taste, developed through study, practice, and reflection.