These books below have been chosen for this recommended list because I feel they are extremely helpful for anyone enthusiastic about learning psychology.
Having read them because others have recommended them and because of my curiosity I've found that they have contributed towards some of my learning curves and in turn they should contribute to others too. I do still read some of these books because some of the theories and examples in these books I find are either very interesting or very applicable in everyday life and I like to revisit them to brush up on anything I may have missed before.
The books below have been briefly reviewed with links that all lead to the amazon store and have been chosen and organized into categories so you know which topic matter the book is regarding.
Lastly some books will have a ''Good Read!'' label to highlight that this book is particularly good and something hopefully you will benefit from reading and will learn a lot from. I will updated this list every so often when I find other good reads.
I hope you enjoy
- Brian Thorm
Influence and persuasion
Title: Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
Author: Robert Caldini
Review: A must read for anyone that wants to learn about social influence! This books goes over in detail six different weapons of influence which cause people to say yes including examples and tons of research to back up each of these amazing principles. Not to mention it is written in a way that it is very easy to absorb and understand.
This book has a wealth of information where more often than not will you'll have to read it a few times because there are many techniques which he mentions that are very useful not just because you can apply them to your everyday speech/repertoire but once you know these techniques of persuasion you will be able to recognise when they are being used on you. A great book indeed.
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Title: Yes! 50 Secrets from the Science of Persuasion
Author: Noel J. Goldstein
Review: A book co-authored by Steve Martin (not the actor) and Robert Caldini though not as impressive as Influence: The psychology of persuasion, it is still considered a good read. Divided into 50 chapters with an easy to understand style of writing which basically gives you the understanding that influence can be learned by pretty much anyone and is not just some illusive science only the few can understand.
Again this book is supported with scientific study's for each topic though it doesn't delve too deep into the inner workings of each topic. Overall a good easy read though it could have been more engaging.
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Title: Quiet Influence: The Introvert's Guide to Making a Difference
Author: Jennifer B. Kahnweiler
Review: A book mainly geared towards introverts so it may not be for everyone but it does give you a better understanding of an introverts world and how to use your strengths as an introvert to be able to persuade more effectively.
Jennifer Kahnweiler describes six different strengths introverts have along with tips to using these strengths to be able to effect others actions. Unfortunately there are no studies to support these tips but they are very useful nonetheless and gives you a way to utilize certain behaviours if you are naturally introverted or feeling low energy on a particular day.
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Title: How to Win Friends and Influence People
Author: Dale Carnegie
Review: An incredible book, this list would not be completed if this book was not included. A good read for just about anyone that wants to improve on their social skills and get along with people better than they may previously done before. It's hard to believe that this book was written over 70 years ago and people still highly recommend it. A timeless book indeed.
Written with plenty of examples including some stories of some historical figures and well known business leaders. It isn't a book you read once; you read it over and over again because it gives so much value. I'm reading it for the fourth time now at the time of writing this review because I feel I need a catch up. Its great for people who want to be liked and get further ahead through good social skills.
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Body language and behaviours
Title: Body Language: How to Read Others' Thoughts by Their Gestures
Author: Allan Pease
Review: I personally believe this is a good book to get your feet wet if you are thinking of learning a little more about gesture's and non-verbal communication, though it is not the best book on body language out there. The illustrations make it very easy to understand with the corresponding text as the overall style is very clear and concise giving you a good understanding of the concepts written without too much effort. A good starter book for the budding body language reader.
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Title: Book Of Tells
Author: Peter Collet
Review: Written by a social psychologist this book is very informative and went through each concept in good detail, I definitely recommend it! One of the most interesting and useful concepts I found was the idea of dominant and submissive tells which is a topic rarely discussed in most body language books and possibly one of the most useful signals to learn about.
You will find a few gems in this book along with the research and examples to support it not only telling you what these non-verbal signals are but why they have come to play. It does help to already have some knowledge on body language to fully grasp everything written in this book but in either case it is a very good read nonetheless.
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Title: What Every Body Is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent's Guide to Speed-reading People
Author: Joe Navarro
Review: A have to say this has to be in my opinion on of the most informative books on body language. One of the takeaways I took from this book was concept of whether someone's body language indicated if they are feeling comfortable or uncomfortable. It most definitely shifted my thinking in in that sense.
The author is also very honest in regards to the subject of lying and deception (ironically) as he explains there is no concrete way to spot a liar and not even polygraph machines are 100% accurate. Along with that he gives some tips on the ways to increase your chances of spotting a liar. He also goes into some ideas about context and body language such as interrogation rooms, social pressure etc. Though there isn't much supporting research though it is one of the most illuminating books in terms of body language.
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Title: The Definitive Book of Body Language
Author: Allan Pease
Review: A second edition to the original Body Language: How to Read others Thoughts by Their Gestures. This book follows a similar structure to the first while giving easy to understand illustrations, some may say that some of the examples are written are common sense but in my opinion they may not be common sense to everyone. Some of the more detailed concepts such as proxemics and culture differences are particularly fascinating and not commonly spoken about.
Each chapter is a haven to explore with surprisingly interesting information and supported with research by Allan and Barbara Pease, humorously written and uses well known public figures to illustrate and help nail down some of the points made in this book. One negative is that I felt maybe not all of the body signals are accurate but what might seem inaccurate for me may turn out to be accurate for another.
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Psychology, theory and practice.
Title: The Memory Palace - Learn Anything and Everything (Starting With Shakespeare and Dickens) (Faking Smart)
Author: Lewis Smile
Review: For anyone who wants to improve their memory this book is good book to read. Written in an easy going humorous style its easy to see why people enjoy this book.The author takes you on a hilarious journey which keeps you engaged throughout and by the end of reading this book you will have learned to memorize a series of plays written by Shakespeare and a list of Charles Dickens novels and you will be impressed with yourself.
Because it doesn't really say much regarding theories on how the memory works I would say it was the only down fall even though I can see other people saying it gets straight to the point without all the fluff. A short guide with tons of value and worth the entertainment and the educational read.
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Title: Memory: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)
Author: Jonathon K. Foster
Review: A very concise book and for its sheer size it references a fair amount of studies regarding the workings of memory. The book drives home that your memories make you who you are. With descriptions of some of the different parts of the brain that store and retrieve memory and the memory systems that the brain uses also. It is a good overall read and it's almost surprising how thorough this book actually is and worth the read especially if you are starting out learning about memory and want to quickly learn about the research that's gone into this subject.
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Title: The Lucifer Effect: How Good People Turn Evil
Author: Philip Zimbardo
Review: First hearing about this book I was immediately intrigued. The tag line on the front cover ''how good people turn bad'' had me very curious about what I was getting my self in for. Though in all honesty it was a lengthy read but it was extremely fascinating. The idea that even the most up right and psychologically healthy person can be corruptible and perform even the most grotesque acts given the right situation can be a little scary.
With supporting stories from Rwanda regarding the mass genocide between the Tutsi tribe and the Hutu tribe, the Abu Ghraib Prison abuse, World War Two and the well known Stanford prison experiment (which was conducted by the author himself) it can even provoke you to ask questions about how susceptible you and people in general are to situational influences. A thoroughly informative book and can be tough to read but overall it is a real eye opener and is very much worth the trouble.
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Title: Prometheus Rising
Author: Robert Anton Wilson
Review: Robert Anton Wilson has pretty much out did himself on this one. The information you will gain from reading this book is such an eye opener it is hard not to go back and reread some of the chapters just so you are sure you've read what you thought you just read. Some of the things you will learn from this book will be intriguing ideas and concepts such as your how own thought traps and reality tunnels keep you blind to everything else around you, societal influences and conditioning, the evolution of human conscious and brainwashing which I also found particularly interesting.
Robert Anton Wilson explains his theories of psychology mixed with philosophy with a good amount of wit which keeps you hooked throughout each of the nineteen chapters provoking you to have a few epiphanies along the way. you will see the world in a different light after reading this book. I have no complaints about this book, definitely a must read.
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