February 7, 2025
A student asked me about popular books in psychology and cognitive sience if they were interested and wanted to learn about a topic. So, I started to think about such books. Honestly, this list feels deeply incomplete, because I don't know what I don't know. The list is also very Cognitive Science focused - I'm basically not counting clinical psychology or self-help. But in the last 20 years or so, there's been a movement for a number of people to write books that try to explain cognitive science concepts to a broad audience. I've read most of these books (but not all).
Also, note, what I'm not including are books written for academics - for example, I've written three books, but NONE of them are on this list. My books are esoteric and only of interest to a few people in the world who study the same @%@$ that I study. These books are written more for popular audiences. I wish I could write a book like that - maybe someday.
Note also - I'll update this list as things come out.
by Daniel Kahneman (shelved 30 times as pop-psychology)
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness
The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength
Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You
by Sam Gosling
The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Caused an Epidemic of Mental Illness
by Jonathan Haidt
The Philosophical Baby: What Children's Minds Tell Us About Truth, Love, and the Meaning of Life
Psych: The Story of the Human Mind
by Paul Bloom
On Task: How Our Brain Gets Things Done
by David Badre
Scienceblind: Why Our Intuitive Theories About the World Are So Often Wrong
The Knowledge Illusion: Why We Never Think Alone
by Steven Sloman, Philip Fernbach
Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst
Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams
Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life
Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know
How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain
The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language
The Invisible Gorilla: And Other Ways Our Intuitions Deceive Us
The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload