Cognitive Science

Human beings are primates, and primates are political animals. Our brains, therefore, are designed not just to hunt and gather but also to help us get ahead socially, often via deception and self-deception. But while we may be self-interested schemers, we benefit by pretending otherwise. The less we know about our own ugly motives, the better - and thus, we don't like to talk, or even think, about the extent of our selfishness. This is "the elephant in the brain". 

Advances in modern science have dramatically increased our understanding of the human brain. While this progress has helped improve many lives, it has also raised many philosophical and theological questions. Researchers are increasingly presenting the brain as comprising the totality of a...

Dr. Lisa Mosconi, whose research spans an extraordinary range of specialties including brain science, the microbiome, and nutritional genomics, notes that the dietary needs of the brain are substantially different from those of the other organs, yet few of us have any idea what they might be. Her innovative approach to cognitive health incorporates concepts that most doctors have yet to learn. Busting through advice based on pseudoscience, Dr. Mosconi provides recommendations for a complete food plan, while calling out noteworthy surprises.

When anxious feelings spiral out of control, they can drain your energy and prevent you from living the life you want. If you're ready to stop letting your anxiety have the upper hand, The Cognitive Behavioral Workbook for Anxiety (Second Edition) can help you to recognize your anxiety triggers, develop skills to stop anxious thoughts before they take over, and keep needless fears from coming back. In the second edition of this best-selling workbook, William J. Knaus offers a step-by-step program to help you overcome anxiety and get back to living a rich and productive life.

A neuroscientist and surgeon makes an argument for the existence of a spiritual human soul in this eye-opening book. Many scientists and doctors believe that there is no such thing as the soul. That there is no part of us that persists beyond death. We are not spiritual in any respect. We are...

An astonishing new science called neuroplasticity is overthrowing the centuries-old notion that the human brain is immutable. Psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, Norman Doidge, M.D., traveled the country to meet both the brilliant scientists championing neuroplasticity and the people whose lives...

No listener curious about our "little gray cells" will want to pass up Harvard neuroscientist John E. Dowling's brief introduction to the brain. In this up-to-date revision of his 1998 book Creating Mind, Dowling conveys the essence and vitality of the field of neuroscience - examining the progress we've made in understanding how brains work, and shedding light on discoveries having to do with aging, mental illness, and brain health. 

Brought to you by Penguin. Why do some people become radicalized? Who is most susceptible to ideological thinking? Can we unchain our minds from toxic dogmas? Regardless of your political stance, this book will challenge you to reassess your convictions – and what they are doing to your brain...

“A timely reminder that we are not just our brains. Arm yourself against the forces of misinformation by reading this book!”—Gina Rippon, author of The Gendered Brain Challenge everything you think you know about your brain. Expose the myths. Embrace the complexity. Transform your...

Written specifically for psychology students—and not other academics—Cognitive Psychology For Dummies is an accessible and entertaining introduction to the field. Cognitive Psychology For Dummies follows the structure of a typical university course, which makes it the perfect supplement for students in need of a clear and enjoyable overview of the topic. The complexities of a field that explores internal mental processes—including the study of how people perceive, remember, think, speak, and solve problems—can be overwhelming for first-year psychology students

How does the brain work? How different is a human brain from other creatures' brains? Is the human brain still evolving? In this fascinating book, Michael O'Shea provides a non-technical introduction to the main issues and findings in current brain research, and gives a sense of how neuroscience addresses questions about the relationship between the brain and the mind. 

Edited by John Brockman, publisher of Edge.org, Thinking presents original ideas by today's leading psychologists, neuroscientists, and philosophers who are radically expanding our understanding of human thought.

Brought to you by Penguin. An eye-opening journey through the secret forces shaping our opinions, this book reveals why we think what we think – and why disagreement matters Our opinions – whether we believe in God or in ghosts, our views on sex or animal rights or immigration, our basic...

A pioneering neuroscientist argues that we are more than our brains To many, the brain is the seat of personal identity and autonomy. But the way we talk about the brain is often rooted more in mystical conceptions of the soul than in scientific fact. This blinds us to the physical realities of...

Brought to you by Penguin. Steven Pinker, one of the world's greatest thinkers and bestselling author of Enlightenment Now, The Better Angels of Our Nature and The Language Instinct, reveals the power and perils of thinking alike. As a cognitive scientist, the ultimate subject of Steven...

Menopause and perimenopause are still baffling to most doctors, leaving patients exasperated as they grapple with symptoms ranging from hot flashes to insomnia to brain fog. As a leading neuroscientist and women's brain health specialist, Dr Mosconi unravels these mysteries by revealing how...

How did human minds become so different from those of other animals? What accounts for our capacity to understand the way the physical world works, to think ourselves into the minds of others, to gossip, read, tell stories about the past, and imagine the future? These questions are not new: they have been debated by philosophers, psychologists, anthropologists, evolutionists, and neurobiologists over the course of centuries. One explanation widely accepted today is that humans have special cognitive instincts.

Millions of copies sold! The bestselling modern classic that sparked a worldwide conversation about the value of concentration—and the true costs of fractured attention. “I’m handing you the answer to the overwhelm you feel, and his name is Dr. Cal Newport.” —Mel Robbins, The Mel...

A compelling and accessible new perspective on the modern science of psychology, based on one of Yale’s most popular courses of all time How does the brain—a three-pound wrinkly mass—give rise to intelligence and conscious experience? Was Freud right that we are all plagued by forbidden...

From one of the world’s top researchers on work and technology comes an insightful and surprising guide to protecting your skill in a world filling with AI and robots. Think of your most valuable skill, the thing you can reliably do under pressure to deliver results. How did you learn it?...