Showing titles in Social Psychology & Interactions

Everyone loves a good conspiracy. Yet conspiracy theories are not a recent invention. And they are not always a harmless curiosity. In Suspicious Minds, Rob Brotherton explores the history and consequences of conspiracism, and delves into the research that offers insights into why so many of us are drawn to implausible, unproven and unproveable conspiracy theories. They resonate with some of our brain's built-in quirks and foibles, and tap into some of our deepest desires, fears, and assumptions about the world.

Uncertainty is one of the defining issues of our time. Certainty has a habit of slipping away, further into our futures and we now have to deal with the uncertainties of our present, every day. When we can no longer make sense of the world together, insecurity takes over. We develop anxiety and confusion about our purpose, and in searching for certainty find it in autocratic leaders and populism. Democracy begins to fade as our uncertainty grows.

Have you ever said good-bye to someone, only to discover that you're both walking in the same direction? Or had your next thought fly out of your brain in the middle of a presentation? Or accidentally liked an old photo on someone's Instagram or Facebook, thus revealing yourself to be a creepy social media stalker? Melissa Dahl, New York magazine's Science of Us editor, has experienced all of those awkward situations and many more. Now she offers a thoughtful, original take on what it really means to feel awkward.

"It's the animal in us," we often hear when we've been bad. But why not when we're good? Primates and Philosophers tackles this question by exploring the biological foundations of one of humanity's most valued traits: morality.In this provocative book, primatologist Frans de Waal argues that modern-day evolutionary biology takes far too dim a view of the natural world, emphasizing our "selfish" genes.

In Friend and Foe, researchers Galinsky and Schweitzer explain why this debate misses the mark. Rather than being hardwired to compete or cooperate, humans have evolved to do both. It is only by learning how to strike the right balance between these two forces that we can improve our long-term relationships and get more of what we want.

This audiobook is a guide that defines dark psychology in a broader light and gives you the knowledge that is needed to survive in the world and has the skills to face the people who want to use you just for their own pleasure and benefit.

Learn to take action and make a difference - one step at a time. How to Change the World combines insights from Tolstoy, Gandhi and Sartre and outlines a refreshing theory of political power, giving examples of successful non-violent action from across the world, from the start of recorded history to the present day.

A powerful treatise that demonstrates the existence of altruism in nature, with surprising implications for human society. Does altruism exist? Or is human nature entirely selfish? In this eloquent and accessible book, famed biologist David Sloan Wilson provides new answers to this age-old question based on the latest developments in evolutionary science.

From the author of The Pimp Game: Instructional Guide comes book two, with advanced lessons in psychological mastery. It dissects techniques of the secret societies, which explain how few minds control so many. What makes one submit to the will of another?

In The Spirit Level Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett put inequality at the centre of public debate by showing conclusively that less equal societies fare worse than more equal ones across everything from education to life expectancy. The Inner Level now explains how inequality affects us individually, how it alters how we think, feel and behave. It sets out the overwhelming evidence that material inequalities have powerful psychological effects: when the gap between rich and poor increases, so does the tendency to define and value ourselves and others in terms of superiority and inferiority.

Armed with the information contained here, you will be one step closer to decluttering your life and living the way you were meant to. You will learn to accept yourself and the world for what it is and focus on the important things as you go steadily toward your life purpose.

Science doesn't speak for itself. Neck-deep in work that can be messy and confounding and naïve in the ways of public communication, scientists are often unable to package their insights into the neat narratives that the public requires. Enter celebrities, advocates, lobbyists, and the funders behind them, who take advantage of scientists' reluctance to provide easy answers, flooding the media with misleading or incorrect claims about health risks. In Bad Advice, Paul A. Offit shares hard-earned wisdom on the dos and don'ts of battling misinformation.

The Power of Body Language is your practical, personal playbook for getting what you desire from others—and zoning in on what others are saying to you without words. In an insightful and engaging narrative peppered with fascinating facts, nationally renowned body-language expert Tonya Reiman illuminates the hidden meaning behind specific gestures, facial cues, stances, and body movements, giving you a life-changing, career-saving, troubleshooting skill.

“There is no good reason why human societies should not be described and explained with the same precision and success as the rest of nature.” Thus argues evolutionary psychologist Pascal Boyer in this uniquely innovative book. Integrating recent insights from evolutionary biology, genetics, psychology, economics, and other fields, Boyer offers precise models of why humans engage in social behaviors such as forming families, tribes, and nations, or creating gender roles.

Would you like to hold in your hand a great secret of success, which will entail you about knowing people and their aspects in the best manner? All you need to use manipulation on your behalf is detecting the secrets underlying the human mind and learn the strategies to sneak into it, so that you will be able to handle it, manage it, persuade it, control it.

In the deeply accessible mode of his international best seller How to Be an Antiracist, Ibram X. Kendi combines a century of scientific research with a vulnerable and compelling personal narrative to argue that it is only by teaching our children about the reality of racism and the myth of race from the earliest age that we can actually protect them and preserve their innocence and joy. Along the way, he shows that an antiracist society is one that safeguards all children.

Award-winning journalist Gary Nunn investigates psychics, mediums and astrologers to understand their uncanny, under-investigated and unregulated power. Gary’s sister Taren consults mediums to process grief after a death in their family. Gary, concerned she’s being exploited, remains sceptical. When he reports on a clairvoyant’s link to a huge stockbroking firm collapse, personal questions become professional.

Have you ever wondered how to get into another person's mind? Is it possible to control the minds of others like in fantasy movies and comics? Would you like to be able to persuade the minds of others? It is possible that someone has asked this question at some point in their life and has given up on it. The truth is that it does not matter how impossible this is but if it is possible to get into the minds of other people. At any time, people allow us to see the actions they perform, and it is here that we can detect their behavior patterns and thus enter their minds.

Does talking about your accomplishments feel scary or icky because you're worried people will think you're "obnoxious"? Does it feel more natural to "put your head down and do the work"? Are you tired of watching the loudest people in your industry get disproportionate praise and rewards? If you answered "yes" to any of the above, you might be self-sabotaging. You need to learn to brag better. Meredith Fineman shares the surefire and anxiety-proof strategies that have helped her clients effectively communicate their achievements and skill sets to others.

Why is mystery so compelling? What draws us to the unknown? Jonah Lehrer sets out to answer these questions in a vividly entertaining and surprisingly profound journey through the science of suspense. He finds that nothing can capture a person’s attention as strongly as mystery, and that mystery is the key principle in how humans view and understand the world. Whenever patterns are broken, we are hard-wired to find out why.