Psychological Books

I'm always interested in understanding perception and how people come to their decisions, rational or not. Having knowledge of how human psychology operates gives me a better perspective on addressing these needs. Also, it's just cool to understand how people tick. =D

I have recently read some books on the subject that have really helped me gain better insight into understanding the processes that our brain progresses through in making a decision, as well as how to create subtle cues in order to influence a person in making a choice.

Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth and Happiness
by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein


This book and website (nudges.org) is focused on behavioural economics. This topic is somewhat controversial when it is applied in practice, a recent example of this is the recent ban of soda drinks of over 16 ounces in New York City. This is related to the portion sizes that consumers are given. People behave in very odd ways when given options regarding food. The book has a chapter on mindless choosing that deals with the topic and specifically on a case where the size of the container of the food influences the behaviour of how much people will believe they should eat/drink, regardless of how hungry the person actually is. This is correlated to the option at any fast food outlet where having the option of having a larger sized meal is a small cost, and most people will tend to choose it just because the perceived value is too much of a deal to pass up.

I could go on regarding all the topics in this book, but I think you should read this book for yourself first.

How We Decide

by Jonah Lehrer

A dive into the decision-making process and a dip into neuroscience to discern the processes and the differences between our emotional brain and our rational brain. I am really interested in Lehrer's theory of how the mind evolves from rationality when learning something and then when enough hours have been put in to become an "expert", then the mind changes gears and shifting that learned behaviour into instinct and modifies that learning it into the emotional brain so that the thought process takes shortcuts into feelings to provide a faster option for the brain.

There is also explanation into the perils of when our brain doesn't operate properly and is fooled into making poor decisions which is also highlighted in the book below by David McRaney.

This is a good book that goes through the popular economic studies but also goes into the neuroscience of explaining how the different parts of the brain behaves and how it processes information leading the person in ultimately making their decision. It gives a general overview of the sections of the brain that are the key parts in decision making without making it overly scientific.

You Are Not So Smart: Why You Have Too Many Friends on Facebook, Why Your Memory Is Mostly Fiction, and 46 Other Ways You're Deluding Yourself

by David McRaney

This book is a great crash course in understanding the pitfalls of human logic. The other books I'm writing about cite the same studies but this is a more succinct guide on understanding the tricks that fool the brain. 

Fast, and easy read and I recommend reading this book first to get familiar with a lot of the economic studies that most economics books reference.

Buying Books: Online or Retail

I recently walked into a Chapters and I was delightfully surprised to find Malcolm Gladwell released a new book, What The Dog Saw: And Other Adventures. I was absolutely sure I was going to buy the book on the spot. His previous books: The Tipping Point, Blink, and Outliers are all outstanding reads that I recommend to everyone. The book was priceded at CDN$35, with a sticker that said 30% off, and another 10% off with my irewards membership.

However, when looking up information on my iphone to see the online reviews I was appalled to see the online price was listed as CDN$17.49. Factoring in the stickered discount, I would still be paying more than if I order it online.

I honestly don't understand how this pricing structure works. Shouldn't I be paying less considering I go into the store to pick it up from your inventory? It doesn't make any sense logically. This doesn't apply to electronics retailers like Best Buy or Future Shop. They sell at the same price either way, but it's up to the customer to pick up or get it shipped. But how do you justify different AND more expensive pricing for the customer to go into the store. Truly mind-boggling.

I'd like a book please!

There's an awesome video on CNN regarding new book printing technology. Being able to order books on demand will definitely make a difference in libraries and being able to stock more content and not being constrained to retain physical copies of old books that can be reprinted. This is the type of technology that will re-define the current generation's ability to adapt technology to be more useful rather than simply entertaining. Ipods/iphones are nice, sure, but how does that affect our society? Music is primarily a form of entertainment, but books can span even more across the ages.

Video-on-demand, sweet. Book-on-demand? KICKASS