THE ROUGH GUIDE TO PSYCHOLOGYNoah Goldstein, Steve J. Martin & Robert B. Cialdini Yes! 50 Secrets from the
Science of Persuasion
Profile Books, 2007
An accessible and entertaining account of psychological principles that can be
used as practical tools of persuasion – from the “foot in the door effect” to the
“scarcity principle”.
Alison Gopnik The Philosophical Baby: What Children’s Minds Tell Us About Truth,
Love and the Meaning of Life
Bodley Head, 2009
Drawing on her own and others’ research, Gopnik, a developmental psychologist,
tackles the question of what it’s like to be a baby or young child. An engaging mix
of psychology, philosophy and personal reflection.
Stephen Murdoch How Psychology Hijacked Intelligence
Gerald Duckworth & Co Ltd, 2009
A no-holds-barred historical account of the shadier side of intelligence testing.
David G. Myers Intuition: Its Powers and Perils
Yale University Press, 2004
A spate of books on human judgement and decision-making have been published
over the last few years. Myers’ effort was one of the first and, arguably, one of the
most readable and comprehensive.
Daniel Nettle Personality
Oxford University Press, 2007
Nettle uses anonymous real-life stories to explain the science behind the Big Five
theory of personality in this lively introduction to the field.
Steven Pinker The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature
Penguin, 2003
A detailed and eloquent mix of evolutionary psychology, anthropology and the
politics of the nature–nurture debate. Pinker has a depth of knowledge and clarity
of thought unsurpassed by any other psychologist writing for a general audience.
Matt Ridley Nature via Nurture
Harper Perennial, 2004
After reading this excellent introduction to behavioural genetics, you’ll wince any
time someone says there’s a specific gene “for” a particular trait or condition.
Oliver Sacks The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat
Summit Books, 1985
A collection of neuropsychological case studies described with feeling and
erudition by British neurologist Sacks.
Tom Stafford and Matt Webb Mind Hacks: Tips and Tools for Using Your Brain
O’Reilly, 2005
Discover how your mind works through self-experimentation. The “hacks” are
illusions and other phenomena that exploit the brain’s engineering to entertaining
and educational effect.