Showing titles in Social Psychology & Interactions

Our secrets can weigh heavily upon us. Yet the burden of secrecy rarely stems from the work it takes to keep a secret hidden. Rather, the weight of our secrets comes from carrying them alone. Whether we are motivated to protect our reputation, a relationship, a loved one's feelings or some personal or professional goal, one thing is clear: holding back some part of our inner world is often lonely and isolating. But it doesn't have to be.

Who believes in conspiracy theories, and why are some people more susceptible to them than others? What are the consequences of such beliefs? Has a conspiracy theory ever turned out to be true? The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories debunks the myth that conspiracy theories are a modern phenomenon, exploring their broad social contexts, from politics to the workplace. The book explains why some people are more susceptible to these beliefs than others and how they are produced by recognizable and predictable psychological processes.

How would you like to experience your life? It's an intriguing question, and yet we've been conditioned to believe our life visions and goals are often unattainable - until now. With The Possibility Principle, psychotherapist Mel Schwartz offers a revolutionary approach to living the life we choose. Though science has vastly expanded our knowledge, it has also led us to adopt a worldview where we see ourselves as insignificant specks living in a mechanical universe.

Between what can be learned from evolutionary psychology and cognitive science a picture emerges. In Sex, Murder, and the Meaning of Life, social psychologist Douglas Kenrick fuses these two fields to create a coherent story of human nature. In his analysis, many ingrained, apparently irrational behaviors—one-night stands, prejudice, conspicuous consumption, even art and religious devotion—are quite explicable and (when desired) avoidable.

Are you a woman navigating the world with ADHD? Feel misunderstood, overwhelmed, or just need effective strategies to manage your unique mind? If so, this book is for you! Meet Perla Phillips, a compassionate guide, whose sister's life-long struggle with ADHD sparked her to dive deep into this complex condition. This book is born from her earnest desire to help women with ADHD, like you, understand and embrace their unique minds while finding effective ways to manage life's challenges.

Characterized by petty rivalries, self-indulgence and lack of responsibility, our actions fail to fulfill what Robert Bly describes as our true soul longing. With characteristic irreverence and storytelling from various cultures, Bly tells us what we should be doing about green-haired adolescents and idle elders, not to mention televisions and computers. His insightful focus illuminates the truths and possibilities of a culture caught in an adolescent phase of development.

From the shows we watch to the ads for our favorite products, mind control is in everything. It is in the conversations that we have with friends in family. We see it when we go to the doctor's office. There is always something that is trying to influence the way that we think and the way that we act. We might not realize it, since we've become so sensitized to the feeling. But this guidebook will tell you the various ways that mind control can work.

Whether we realize it or not, we all take risks large and small every day. Even the most cautious among us cannot opt out - the question is always which risks to take, not whether to take them at all. What most of us don't know is how to measure those risks and maximize the chances of getting what we want out of life. In An Economist Walks into a Brothel, Schrager equips listeners with five principles for dealing with risk, principles used by some of the world's most interesting risk takers.

Learn how to recognize anxiety attacks, and discover simple ways to deal with it.

Tackling the complex subject of bias head on, Skewed investigates the hidden messages we absorb from birth. Looking closely at what the research can tell us, Caryn Franklin and Dr Keon West explain how our inner worlds are shaped by false information, media trends, and the brain’s preference for patterns and stereotypes. Exploring biases around gender, sexuality, race, age and appearance, Caryn and Keon explain how bias impacts all of our lives.

In a world where oversharing is the norm, "How to Be Mysterious: 30 Laws to Building an Enigmatic Reputation" by Sterling Demers offers a refreshing and captivating guide to reclaiming your aura of mystery. Through 30 transformative laws, Demers expertly navigates the art of intrigue, teaching listeners how to weave a tapestry of mystique around themselves, both in personal and professional realms.

Learn the most effective observation techniques and how they can influence your interactions with others; find out the different facial expressions and how to decode them; understand how someone’s posture and gestures can give away their emotions, and more!

"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.

Why did Paul Gauguin abandon middle-class life to follow the path of a starving artist? What inspired Bill Gates to give away so much of his hard-won fortune? How has Donald Trump succeeded so excessively, when his winning style could easily be his greatest liability? As the renowned emotion researcher Jessica Tracy reveals in Take Pride, each of these superachievers has been motivated by an often maligned emotion: pride.

When Özlem Cekic became the first Muslim MP in the Danish Parliament, her email inbox was inundated with hate mail and threats, and her gut reaction was to delete and ignore each abusive message. But eventually, she decided to take a risk. She started replying to each message and inviting the senders to meet and engage in dialogue over coffee. And with time, understanding, and patience, she began to make a difference, both in the lives of those who hated her before even meeting her, and in her own life.

How often do you walk away from a conversation feeling really heard? That it moved the people in it forward in some important way? You’re not alone. In his practice as a designer, Fred Dust began to approach conversations differently. After years of trying to broker communication between colleagues and clients, he came to believe there had to a way to design the art of conversation itself with intention and purpose, but still artful and playful.

Humor, like pornography, is famously difficult to define. We know it when we see it, but is there a way to figure out what we really find funnyand why? In this fascinating investigation into the science of humor and laughter, cognitive neuroscientist Scott Weems uncovers what’s happening in our heads when we giggle, guffaw, or double over with laughter. While we typically think of humor in terms of jokes or comic timing, in Ha! Weems proposes a provocative new model.

Do you say yes to people so often, you've forgotten how it feels to say no? You're not alone. Many people spend years putting aside their own wants and needs in order to please the people in their life and avoid conflict. Although there will always be situations where diplomacy is important, you cannot define your life through other people. There's a fine line between being considerate of others, and compromising your individuality, and you can slip into living as a people-pleaser without even realizing it.

Every day we speak to ourselves and to each other, about ourselves and about others. Whether ruminating on a past event alone or gossiping with a group of friends, we move through life in a state of near-constant chatter - even during those moments we profess to wanting nothing more than some peace and quiet. So, why do we do it, and what purpose does talking serve? In this paean to conversation, neuroscientist Shane O'Mara encourages us to marvel at our brains distinct mechanisms for communicating.

Do you ever feel overwhelmed and powerless after watching the news? Does it make you feel sad about the world, without much hope for its future? Take a breath. The world is not as bad as the headlines would have you believe! In You Are What You Read, campaigner and researcher Jodie Jackson helps us understand how our current 24-hour news cycle is produced, who decides what stories are selected, why the news is mostly negative, and what effect this has on us, as individuals and as a society.