Winter received his B.S. in Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh in 1999. After a few years working for the Biostatistics Center at George Washington University, he began graduate school at Indiana University. Winter received his Ph.D. in Social Psychology and Cognitive Science in 2007. His research interests include social influence in social networks, homophily and group identity, and group problem solving and group search.
He is a member of the American Psychological Society, the Cognitive Science Society, and the Society of Personality and Social Psychology. He serves as a reviewer for the Journal of Social Psychology, Journal of Social Psychology and Personality Science, and the Journal of Statistical Analysis and Data Mining.