The best books on consumer psychology

Why am I passionate about this?

Frank R. Kardes, Ph.D. is the Donald E. Weston Professor of Marketing and Distinguished Research Professor at the Lindner College of Business at the University of Cincinnati. He is a recipient of the Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award of the Society for Consumer Psychology, and a Fellow of five national professional societies. His research focuses on omission neglect, consumer judgment, and inference processes, persuasion and advertising, and consumer and managerial decision making. He was Co-Editor of Advances in Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Psychology, the Handbook of Consumer Psychology, and Marketing Letters, and serves or has served on seven editorial boards. He has published nine books and over 100 articles and chapters on consumer psychology.


I wrote...

Handbook of Research Methods in Consumer Psychology

By Frank R. Kardes,

Book cover of Handbook of Research Methods in Consumer Psychology

What is my book about?

What impact can various research methods have on consumer psychology? How can they help us understand the workings of the consumer mind? And how can the field of consumer psychology best utilize these methods? In the Handbook of Research Methods in Consumer Psychology, leading consumer psychologists summarize key aspects of the research process and explain how different methods enrich understanding of how consumers process information to form judgments and opinions and to make consumption-related decisions.

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Influence: Science and Practice

Frank R. Kardes Why did I love this book?

Cialdini is one of the greatest influence and persuasion researchers of all time. This book is scientifically grounded, entertaining, and a must read for anyone interested in selling a product, a service, an idea, or even themselves (in a job interview or online dating context). Cialdini demonstrates that consumers are susceptible to six major influence techniques that are particularly effective when consumers are on automatic pilot.

By Robert B. Cialdini,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Influence as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Influence: Science and Practice is an examination of the psychology of compliance (i.e. uncovering which factors cause a person to say "yes" to another's request).

Written in a narrative style combined with scholarly research, Cialdini combines evidence from experimental work with the techniques and strategies he gathered while working as a salesperson, fundraiser, advertiser, and in other positions inside organizations that commonly use compliance tactics to get us to say "yes." Widely used in classes, as well as sold to people operating successfully in the business world, the eagerly awaited revision of Influence reminds the reader of the power of…


Book cover of Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade

Frank R. Kardes Why did I love this book?

Another scientifically-grounded but entertaining book by Cialdini. Setting the stage for influence and persuasion requires reducing consumer resistance, increasing consumer receptivity, and expert timing on the part of the influence agent. Cialdini demonstrates that priming techniques and tunnel-vision-based techniques can be surprisingly effective.

By Robert B. Cialdini,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Pre-Suasion as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When it comes to persuasion, success can begin before you say a word.

'An instant classic.' Forbes
'Utterly fascinating.' Adam Grant, author of Originals and Give and Take
'Shockingly insightful.' Chip Heath, co-author of Switch and Made to Stick

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

In his global bestseller Influence, Professor Robert Cialdini transformed the way we think about the craft of persuasion. Now he offers revelatory new insights into the art of winning people over: it isn't just what we say or how we say it that counts, but also what goes on in the moments before we speak.

This is…


Book cover of Consumer Behavior

Frank R. Kardes Why did I love this book?

This textbook is scientifically grounded but highly readable. This book offers an information-processing perspective to help us get inside the head of the consumer and to understand how attention, memory, judgment, and inference processes operate in concert to influence consumer decision making. Consumers are frequently unaware of these influences on their thinking and reasoning.

By Maria Cronley, Thomas Cline, Frank R. Kardes

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Consumer Behavior as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This wide-ranging yet focused text provides an informative introduction to consumer behavior supported by in-depth, scientifically grounded coverage of key principles and applications.

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR, Second Edition, devotes ample attention to "classic" consumer behavior topics, including consumer information processing, consumer decision making, persuasion, social media and the role of culture and society on consumer behavior. In addition, this innovative text explores important current topics and trends relevant to modern consumer behavior, such as international and ethical perspectives, an examination of contemporary media, and a discussion of online tactics and branding strategies. This versatile text strikes an ideal balance among theoretical…


Book cover of Social Cognition: From Brains to Culture

Frank R. Kardes Why did I love this book?

The new fourth edition of the classic text on cognitive social psychology with many important implications for understanding consumer psychology. The authors are leading researchers and the text is organized using an information processing perspective. The text covers classic social psychological topics, such as person perception, person memory, stereotyping, attitudes and persuasion, causal inference, and decision making. The text is science-based, high level, but also very readable and appropriate for a general audience.

By Susan T. Fiske, Shelley E. Taylor,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Social Cognition as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The social world is complicated and our minds are limited, so we take shortcuts. You have to make quick decisions - this person is dangerous, this one is not. The shortcuts we take mostly work well enough, because, after all, we survive. But some are deeply unjust, including racial or social class categories or other unfair stereotypes.

This book will help you understand how these shortcuts work, why they exist, and how they are changing.

There are examples in each chapter which
* Show applications in the real world to help with your understanding
* Highlight significant pieces of research…


Book cover of The Knowledge Illusion: Why We Never Think Alone

Frank R. Kardes Why did I love this book?

This book focuses on the psychology of decision making, but is highly relevant to consumer decision making. Humankind’s greatest strength is the ability to share knowledge. However, one side effect of this strength is the inability to distinguish between what one knows and what others know. This can lead to a surprisingly large array of decision-making biases and errors. Most of these errors pertain to the overestimation of how much one knows about a topic and the overconfidence that results.

By Steven Sloman, Philip Fernbach,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Knowledge Illusion as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Human reasoning is remarkably shallow - in fact, our thinking and justifications just scratch the surface of the true complexity of the issues we deal with. The ability to think may still be the greatest wonder in the world (and beyond), but the way that individuals think is less than ideal. In The Knowledge Illusion, Sloman and Fernbach show that our intelligence resides not in individual brains but in the collective mind. To function, individuals rely not only on knowledge that is stored within our skulls but also on knowledge stored elsewhere, be it in our bodies, in the environment…


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StairWell

By James Sale,

Book cover of StairWell

James Sale Author Of StairWell

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Poet Entrepreneur Consultant Innovator

James' 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

StairWell is the second volume of The English Cantos, where the Poet leaves the confines of Hell’s hospital ward and enters Purgatory. Following in the footsteps of Dante Alighieri, the Poet must climb the staircase to the Chapel of St. Luke, at once a real place of solace and sacredness in the midst of the blighted hospital, but also a metaphysical plane, accessible only to those who may pass the trials and tribulations of the purgatorial ascent.

On the journey, the Poet will meet figures both from his personal life, and those more well known, all fighting their own battles of self-improvement.

Combining deep psychology with the fantastical grandeur of an Arthurian legend, StairWell explores the fragility and wickedness of the human condition balanced with the transformational powers of Hope and Faith.

StairWell

By James Sale,

What is this book about?

From the misery of Hell’s corrupted wards, to the mountain of personal transcendence…

StairWell is the second volume of The English Cantos, where the Poet leaves the confines of Hell’s hospital ward and enters Purgatory. Following in the footsteps of Dante Alighieri, the Poet must climb the staircase to the Chapel of St. Luke, at once a real place of solace and sacredness in the midst of the blighted hospital, but also a metaphysical plane, accessible only to those who may pass the trials and tribulations of the purgatorial ascent.

On the journey, the Poet will meet figures both from…


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