From social psychology to neurology (disorders of the brain and nervous system), psychology includes a wide spectrum of disciplines that provide an insight into the workings of the mind. We bring to you a list of five psychological books that you should all read, covering the various aspects of this field.
1. The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat And Other Clinical Tales, Oliver Sacks
Sacks chronicles a number of fascinating and bizarre instances that he encountered in his work as a neurologist in this classic book.
The book is named after one of these cases: a guy with visual agnosia mistook his wife for a hat. People with this disorder are unable to comprehend visual information, and are unable to recognise things or faces. From this to a case with a patient who couldn't recognise his own leg, Sacks has dealt with some of the most unusual situations.
It's a fascinating and easy-to-read book that will teach you that our brains may go awry in a variety of ways.
2. Predictably Irrational, Dan Ariely
Ariely, a behavioural economist, challenges the generally held idea that humans make logical judgments in this book. He, instead, presents a case for the assumption that we act irrationally. We will, for example, eat another plate at an endless buffet despite the fact that we are already stuffed.
The book looks at a variety of elements that influence these behaviours, including expectations, emotions, and social standards, among others. It reveals the unreasonable errors we make on a regular basis — errors that are predictable. Ariely even gives advise on how to break these habits.
This book will make you question what you believe you know about yourself, and help you stop repeating the same irrational patterns.
3. The Invisible Gorilla, Christopher Chabris And Daniel Simons
This book highlights how when we are concentrated on one thing, we tend to neglect everything else.
It is based on an earlier research conducted by the authors, when participants, who were told to count how many times players pass the ball in a basketball game, don't even see a gorilla dressed as a player walking through the game.
In this fascinating book, Chabris and Simons do a wonderful job of proving that we don't notice as much as we think we do.
4. Influence: Science And Practice, Robert Cialdini
Cialdini's eye-opening work delves into the issues of persuasion and influence. It teaches us how to be more persuasive as well as how to avoid being persuaded to do things we don't want to do.
Cialdini says that there are six psychological factors that motivate us to submit to others' influence, which he goes over in depth.
This book will not only entertain you, but it will also help you become more conscious of the power of how you communicate with others - even in your daily life.
5. 50 Great Myths Of Popular Psychology: Shattering Widespread Misconceptions About Human Behaviour, Scott O Lilienfeld, Steven Jay Lynn, John Ruscio, and Barry Beyerstein
As the title says, this book debunks 50 common psychological myths. These are beliefs that are not scientifically correct, but which the general population continues to believe.
The writers want to prove that common sense can be deceiving. Instead of just accepting these assertions as genuine, this book invites us to think critically and assess them.
This is a fascinating book that is well worth reading because most of us are probably unaware that many of our assumptions are incorrect.