I’m a Hope College social psychologist who reports on psychological science in textbooks, general audience trade books, and essays. My career has progressed from experiments on group decision-making to reading widely in psychological science in search of discoveries and big ideas that educated people should know about. Two aims animate my writing: to enable people, amid a sea of misinformation, to think smarterabout their lives, and to savor the wonders of their lives.
I wrote...
How Do We Know Ourselves? Curiosities and Marvels of the Human Mind
Reading my discipline’s discoveries leaves me sometimes surprised, occasionally awestruck, and frequently fascinated by our mind and its actions. This wee book’s 40 essays offer psychological research revelations—snapshots of the field’s mind-expanding discernments.
The essays are brief and playful musings that I hope you might enjoy during a bus ride, an office wait, or as bedtime mental morsels. Each has a simple premise: Although we all know a lot, we don’t know what we don’t know—even about ourselves. So, let’s shine the light of psychological science on our sometimes bewildering but ever-intriguing lives.
This magnum opus by Nobel laureate psychologist Kahneman distills in easily read language—and with compelling examples—the insights of his epic research. To us psychological scientists, Kahneman is a hero—a fountain of creative research and insights into the powers and perils of human intuition. Kahneman’s explorations of the speedy but error-prone unconscious, automatic mind will be part of psychology’s enduring wisdom for centuries to come.
The phenomenal international bestseller - 2 million copies sold - that will change the way you make decisions
'A lifetime's worth of wisdom' Steven D. Levitt, co-author of Freakonomics 'There have been many good books on human rationality and irrationality, but only one masterpiece. That masterpiece is Thinking, Fast and Slow' Financial Times
Why is there more chance we'll believe something if it's in a bold type face? Why are judges more likely to deny parole before lunch? Why do we assume a good-looking person will be more competent? The answer lies in the two ways we make choices: fast,…
Cialdini shines the light on evidence-based persuasion principles on their application by real-world influencers—many of which he observed when going undercover. Once we understand the power of reciprocation, of commitment, of social proof, of liking, of authority, and of scarcity, we will better understand both how to ethically apply these persuasive powers, and how to resist those who would use them to manipulate us. Cialdini’s gift for engrossing storytelling further explains what has made this book a multi-million copy best-seller.
The foundational and wildly popular go-to resource for influence and persuasion-a renowned international bestseller, with over 5 million copies sold-now revised adding: new research, new insights, new examples, and online applications.
In the new edition of this highly acclaimed bestseller, Robert Cialdini-New York Times bestselling author of Pre-Suasion and the seminal expert in the fields of influence and persuasion-explains the psychology of why people say yes and how to apply these insights ethically in business and everyday settings. Using memorable stories and relatable examples, Cialdini makes this crucially important subject surprisingly easy. With Cialdini as a guide, you don't have…
“For the time is coming when people will...turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths.” So wrote St. Paul, two millennia ago. And so it has come to pass in our age, with misinformation spreading faster than truth, and democracy threatened by anti-science conspiracy thinking. In response to this post-truth world, Pinker, with his characteristic wit and wisdom, exposes the roots and fruits of human irrationality and guides us to thinking smarter. A book for our time.
'Punchy, funny and invigorating ... Pinker is the high priest of rationalism' Sunday Times
'If you've ever considered taking drugs to make yourself smarter, read Rationality instead. It's cheaper, more entertaining, and more effective' Jonathan Haidt, author of The Righteous Mind
In the twenty-first century, humanity is reaching new heights of scientific understanding - and at the same time appears to be losing its mind. How can a species that discovered vaccines for Covid-19 in less than a year produce so much fake news, quack cures and conspiracy theorizing?
Readers will be informed and stimulated by any book by Haidt, one of psychology’s great public intellectuals. This influential volume speaks to our polarized world, by identifying the moral virtues of both left and right, and advocating cross-partisan dialogue. As such, it sets the foundation for Haidt’s Heterodox Academy initiative, which advocates open, free-spirited campus conversations.
'A landmark contribution to humanity's understanding of itself' The New York Times
Why can it sometimes feel as though half the population is living in a different moral universe? Why do ideas such as 'fairness' and 'freedom' mean such different things to different people? Why is it so hard to see things from another viewpoint? Why do we come to blows over politics and religion?
Jonathan Haidt reveals that we often find it hard to get along because our minds are hardwired to be moralistic, judgemental and self-righteous. He explores how morality evolved to enable us to form communities, and…
Having authored a long-ago book on the scientific pursuit of happiness, I have a shelf of superb books by hugely respected colleagues such as Martin Seligman, Daniel Gilbert, Jonathan Haidt, and Ed Diener. But for an evidence-based overview of why some folks are happier than others, how happiness benefits us, and practical strategies for how (within the constraints of our genetic dispositions) we can give our happiness a sustainable boost, Lyubomirsky’s guide is among the best...as well as being a pleasure to read.
The key tenet of THE HOW OF HAPPINESS is that every human being has a happiness 'set point' which, depending on how high or low it is, can determine how positive or negative they feel. This book offers a practical approach to help readers increase their set point, and find a level of happiness above that which they would normally feel, and feel more satisfaction in life.
Based on scientific research and trials, this is a groundbreaking book that offers a practical plan to enable readers to achieve a more positive outlook at home, at work and in their personal…
I am adopted. For most of my life, I didn’t identify as adopted. I shoved that away because of the shame I felt about being adopted and not truly fitting into my family. But then two things happened: I had my own biological children, the only two people I know to date to whom I am biologically related, and then shortly after my second daughter was born, my older sister, also an adoptee, died of a drug overdose. These sequential births and death put my life on a new trajectory, and I started writing, out of grief, the history of adoption and motherhood in America.
I grew up thinking that being adopted didn’t matter. I was wrong. This book is my journey uncovering the significance and true history of adoption practices in America. Now, in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, the renewed debate over women’s reproductive rights places an even greater emphasis on adoption. As a mother, historian, and adoptee, I am uniquely qualified to uncover the policies and practices of adoption.
The history of adoption, reframed through the voices of adoptees like me, and mothers who have been forced to relinquish their babies, blows apart old narratives…
Who Is a Worthy Mother?: An Intimate History of Adoption
Nearly every person in the United States is affected by adoption. Adoption practices are woven into the fabric of American society and reflect how our nation values human beings, particularly mothers. In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade, the renewed debate over women's reproductive rights places an even greater emphasis on adoption. As a mother, historian, and adoptee, Rebecca C. Wellington is uniquely qualified to uncover the policies and practices of adoption. Wellington's timely-and deeply researched-account amplifies previously marginalized voices and exposes the social and racial biases embedded in the United States' adoption industry.…
