Showing titles in Social Psychology & Interactions

Most of us want to make a difference. We donate to charity, buy Fairtrade coffee, or try to cut down on our carbon emissions. Rarely do we know if we're really helping, and despite our best intentions, our actions can have ineffective -- and sometimes downright harmful - outcomes. Confronting this problem, William MacAskill developed the concept of effective altruism, a practical, data-driven approach which shows that each of us has the power to do an astonishing amount of good, given the right information.

For years, we've been told that authenticity is the key to success—that we should be true to ourselves, tune out others' opinions, and lead with unwavering genuineness. This feel-good message has spawned countless self-help books, leadership seminars, and viral social media posts. There's just one problem: science says it's wrong. Drawing on decades of research, renowned psychologist Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic reveals an uncomfortable truth: our obsession with authenticity is backfiring.

The controversial science that claims to have revolutionised economics. For centuries, economics was dominated by the idea that we are rational individuals who optimise our own ‘utility’. Then, in the 1970s, psychologists demonstrated that the reality is a lot messier. We don’t really know what our utility is, and we care about people other than ourselves. We are susceptible to external nudges. And far from being perfectly rational, we are prone to ‘cognitive biases’ with complex effects on decision-making, such as forgetting to prepare for retirement. 

Brought to you by Penguin. Our goal should not be to eliminate vulnerability, but to harness its power. This is a roadmap for figuring out how. We know the gut-wrenching feeling: that post-conversation replay, cringing at how much we just revealed. We live in fear of saying too much, so we keep...

In 24 absorbing lectures, you’ll discover many of the different cognitive, motivational, and emotional factors that underlie social behavior. Along the way, you’ll come to appreciate - and evaluate critically - research in the behavioral sciences, applying what you learn from social psychology research to events in the real world. At the end of this course, you will have clearer self-awareness, better tools to foster friendships and romantic relationships, and a more compassionate heart to become a better global citizen.

This wide-ranging course reveals the method to our madness in everything from finances to Friday the 13th. An expert on irrational behavior, Prof. Stuart Vyse discusses what it means to be rational before delving into the many reasoning errors and psychological challenges that lead us astray. In 15 lectures, you will learn to identify the logical fallacies and quirks of our psychology that tempt us to make unwise decisions. While the course is based in theory, it’s also teeming with practical advice.

In this audiobook, you will find detailed information on mind control. You will learn how the process is created and how it is imposed to the victim. A manipulator tries to transform you into a slave willing to follow any orders.

This audiobook explains why people buy - and how to use that knowledge to improve pricing, increase sales, and create better, "brain-friendly" brand messaging. Become a more effective leader with the practical tools in this book. 

The Number One international bestseller featuring contributions from Daniel Kahneman, Dan Ariely, Ryan Holiday, Alison Gopnik, Howard Gardner, Antonio Damasio, and Aaron James. ‘We need books like this one’ Steven Pinker Stupidity is all around us, from the colleagues who won’t stop...

Brought to you by Penguin. In The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature, Steven Pinker looks at how the relationship between words and thoughts can help us understand who we are. Why do so many swear words involve topics like sex, bodily functions or the divine? Why do some...

A famed political scientist's classic argument for a more cooperative world We assume that, in a world ruled by natural selection, selfishness pays. So why cooperate? In The Evolution of Cooperation, political scientist Robert Axelrod seeks to answer this question. In 1980, he organized the...

The Outsider was an instant literary sensation when it was first published in 1956, thrusting its youthful author into the front rank of contemporary writers and thinkers. Wilson rationalised the psychological dislocation so characteristic of Western creative thinking into a coherent theory of alienation, and defined those affected by it as a type: the outsider. Through the works and lives of various artists, including Kafka, Camus, Hemingway, Hesse, Lawrence, Van Gogh, Shaw, Nietzsche and Dostoevsky, Wilson explored the psyche of the outsider, his effect on society and society's on him.

From the author of the Wall Street Journal bestseller Barking Up the Wrong Tree comes a cure-all for our increasing emotional distance and loneliness—a smart, surprising, and thoroughly entertaining guide to help build better friendships, reignite love, and get closer to others, whether...

Neuroscientist Amir Raz shares decades of research and case studies to show how suggestion changes the brain and shapes our behavior—and how we can protect ourselves from and harness suggestibility in our own lives. Suggestions can make cheap wine taste like Château Margaux, warp our...

Most of us spend a significant part of the day in front of a screen. Our work and social lives play out through our computers, tablets and phones: on email, social media, video conference calls and gaming servers. But what is all this screen time doing to our health, our sleep, and our relationships? Professor Pete Etchells studies the way we use screens, and how they can affect us. In UNLOCKED, he delves into the real science behind the panic about our alleged device addiction and withering attention spans. 

After decades of affluence, we’re busy renovating our homes, buffing and botoxing our bodies and losing ourselves in passive entertainment and shopping, as depression and anxiety soar. And with the arrival of Netflix and Uber Eats, there’s less and less incentive to leave home. Could our constant need for connection be messing with our brains? Is this why we’re losing our ability to strike up a conversation with anyone we don’t know? And given that so many of our kids lack one-on-one attention and regular touch, are we raising this new generation to be profoundly lonely?

A Financial Times Book of the Month pick for April! Is it worth swimming in shark-infested waters to surf a 50-foot, career-record wave? Is it riskier to make an action movie or a horror movie? Should sex workers forfeit 50 percent of their income for added security or take a chance and keep the...

In this startling study of human emotion, Dacher Keltner investigates an unanswered question of human evolution: If humans are hardwired to lead lives that are "nasty, brutish, and short," why have we evolved with positive emotions like gratitude, amusement, awe, and compassion that promote ethical action and cooperative societies? Born to Be Good takes us on a journey through scientific discovery, personal narrative, and Eastern philosophy.

When a relationship with a narcissist ends, the caretaking partner is often left confused, deeply hurt, and often still emotionally connected, while the narcissist seems to easily move on to the next relationship. Healing from a Narcissistic Relationship offers guidance about what to expect as the relationship unravels and how to cope with the fallout. It also helps the reader learn to truly disengage and move through the grief process.

Think of the way you keep up quirky family traditions. How listening to a certain song before speaking in public can calm you down. Or why it feels so strange to sleep on the opposite side of the bed. These are rituals: practices that are imbued with symbolic meaning. And they have the power to turn black-and-white moments into technicolour. Harvard professor and world-leading rituals expert Michael Norton uses his cutting-edge research to show the impact that these everyday actions have on our lives -- and how transforming habits into rituals can give us purpose and pleasure.