Do you enjoy reading psychology books?
If so, buckle up. We have come up with the 20 best psychology books of all time.
Let’s face it; Life has been quite unexpected and stressful because of the ongoing pandemic.
There is no hustle and bustle, but isolation is creeping into our minds.
It has become important for us to positively guide our thought processes and understand our psychological patterns and phenomena during these hard times.
Honestly, it has become more important than ever for us to understand our thought processes.
So, why not grab a cup of coffee and enjoy some of the best psychology books?
Quick View
| Name of the best psychology books | Authors |
| 20. The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom | Jonathan Haid |
| 19. The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain | Annie Murphy Paul |
| 18. What Everybody Is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent’s Guide to Speed-Reading People | Joe Navarro |
| 17. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success | Carol Dweck |
| 16. The Interpretation of Dreams | Sigmund Freud |
| 15. Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don’t Know | Malcolm Gladwell |
| 14. Games People Play: The Psychology of Human Relationships | Eric Berne |
| 13. How to Win Friends & Influence People | Dale Carnegie |
| 12. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience | Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi |
| 11. Outliers: The Story of Success | Malcolm Gladwell |
| 10. The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion | Jonathan Haidt |
| 9. Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More than IQ | Daniel Goleman |
| 8. Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking | Malcolm Gladwell |
| 7. Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard | Chip Heath and Dan Heath |
| 6. The Principles of Psychology | William James |
| 5. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion | Robert Cialdini |
| 4. Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions | Dan Ariely |
| 3. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business | Charles Duhigg |
| 2. Man’s Search for Meaning | Viktor Frankl |
| 1. Thinking, Fast and Slow | Daniel Kahneman |
Best Psychology Books in 2023.
The list is based on Goodreads, jamesclear.com, and many other sites.
20. The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom
Haidt, in this book, explores the philosophical wisdom amidst us through the psychological lens. Here he connects dots between the ideas of ancient philosophers, thinkers, and the contemporary world.
Similarly, he presents us with the lessons that still apply to our lives in the modern-day.
The writer, throughout the book, explores the concepts like meaning, happiness, and virtue.
19. The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain
Here’s a book of A New York Times Editors’ Choice. The writer wonderfully reveals how we can tap the intelligence that exists beyond our brains.
Furthermore, the writer explicitly explains how a host of “extra-neural” resources like the place we work and our physical movement can influence us and help us concentrate deeply and even more imaginatively.
She concludes by analyzing and examining various surveys and researches conducted by neuroscientists.
It reveals how artists, philosophers, scientists, and authors—from Jackson Pollock to Jonas Salk to Robert Caro to Nietzsche have extended their brain power by going beyond the brain.
18. What Everybody Is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent’s Guide to Speed-Reading People
Do you wish if you could spot people lying? Well, If so, this is the book for you.
Navarro, through his experience as an FBI agent, shares his knowledge about body language.
The book explores what different bodily behavior and movement indicate. So if you are looking to master body language, this book is absolutely for you.
17. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
In his widely praised book, motivation and personality psychology, expert carol Dweck explains mind blogging facts about our mindset.
From his extensive research of about 20 years, the writer concludes that our mind is not a minor personality trait; besides, it shapes our whole mental world.
Furthermore, the book will help you shape your mindset positively and help you see the world in a whole new way.
Dweck explains how we become optimistic or pessimistic or how the mindset affects our goals, attitude towards works, and relationships.
16. The Interpretation of Dreams
The interpretation of dreams is one of the phenomenal works in psychology.
Freud, in his book, introduced the theory of unconsciousness concerning dream interpretation which is now known as the theory of the Oedipus complex.
Similarly, he gave rise to the idea that dream is the means through which unconsciousness can be explored and analyzed.
The classic text on dream analysis and interpretation is a must-read if you want to fathom the study of psychoanalysis.
15. Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don’t Know
On 15th position of our list of best psychology books is Talking to Strangers.
The book focuses on how our way of dealing with information and situation invites conflict and misunderstandings.
Besides, the author drags the example of miscommunication, false assumptions, and interactions from the arrest of Fidel Castro, Neville Chamberlain, and Adolf Hitler interaction.
14. Games People Play The Psychology of Human Relationships
Games people play is not just the best psychology book but also a bestselling book with over 5 million copies sold.
The book takes readers to explore the interactions we face in our daily life.
In fact, Games are undoubtedly a part of our society, whether in the name of power, mind, or any other.
The author gives insights on how to recognize those games we face in daily lives and play mindfully. He presents both functional and dysfunctional social interactions.
13. How to Win Friends & Influence People
Well, you surely must have heard of this self-help book which in many ways is also related to psychological aspects.
This masterpiece by Dale gives ways to make other people like you and get the job done quickly.
If you want to develop communication and leadership skills, then this is a must-read book for you.
Interestingly, 15 million copies are sold since its release in 1936.
12. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
From his investigation of optimal experience, the psychologist reveals that flow, the state of consciousness, makes any experiences more satisfying.
Additionally, he claims it is during flow people experience deep satisfaction, enjoyment, creativity, and meaning.
Make sure you read it if you want to unlock your true potential and find true happiness.
11. Outliers: The Story of Success
Have you ever wondered what makes high achievers different?
If so, then this book on our list of best psychology books is for you.
In his widely praised book, Gladwell takes you to venture out on a journey of highly successful and brightest people.
The intellectual journey will help you build a better version of yourself.
Moreover, he explains the secrets of software billionaires to great soccer players to the Beatles.
10. The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion
This book is a good explorer of social, moral, evolutionary, and political psychology.
The author gives insights into how moral judgments are related to gut feelings rather than reason.
Furthermore, he adds logical arguments to why liberals, conservatives, and libertarians have such different intuitions about right and wrong and why they are actually right in any respect.
Moreover, he clarifies all our questions relating to the moral dilemma of politics and or why political leaders cant work together despite mounting problems.
In addition, he mentions the origins of our division and also gives way forward to mutual understanding.
9. Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More than IQ
This book by Daniel Goleman breaks the orthodoxical belief that only a high IQ can make you a successful, rich life.
The author argues besides IQ, emotional intelligence is equally important in life to live a happy and prosperous life.
In fact, the book will improve your relationships, career, and mental health.
8. Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
Here’s another book by Malcolm Gladwell on our list.
In this book, Malcolm explains the tendency of the brain in decision-making. He argues that our brain makes decisions in no time without thinking about them rationally.
Well, you might have understood the title of the book now why it is named as thinking without thinking.
So if you are looking to surpass forthcoming decisions rationally, this is a must-read book.
It will help you understand the science behind decision-making and improve your habit of aging spontaneous decisions.
7. Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard
Heath brothers present the mind-blogging aspect of the brain in their book. They mention that we have two conflicting systems in our brain; the irrational mind and the emotional mind, and these systems conflict while making decisions.
It is hard to make lasting change because of the conflict between these two aspects of the mind. The rational mind wants to change things and venture for more while the emotional mind hooks to comfort.
Importantly, the book gives insights into how we can effect transformative change.
6. The Principles of Psychology
On 6th position of our list of best psychology books is the principles of psychology by William James.
This classical masterpiece of William James is the phenomenal achievement and turning point in the development of psychology.
William combines his insights into philosophy, science, art, and literature, which leads readers to get absorbed in his thoughts and perception.
5. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
Robert Cialdini Influence is a new york times bestseller that teaches you the psychology of why people agree upon something.
The book explains how you can influence others or persuade others in everyday situations.
It shares six principles that revolve around any persuasion; Reciprocation, Commitment, and Consistency, Social Proof, Liking, Authority, Scarcity:
4. Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions
Ariely explains in his book that all the decisions we make are methodical and therefore predictable, so people’s senseless behavior towards things is not actually senseless.
He contradicts the idea that we behave in rational ways. He explains that our expectations, emotions, social norms, and seemingly illogical forces skew our reasoning abilities.
3. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
One simple thing that can stunningly change your life is habits.
In his book, Charles Duhigg explains how habit impacts your life and better makes new habits.
He presents the science behind habit creation and reformation in his book and backs it with thrilling scientific evidence.
So if you are looking to understand the science behind the habit and unveil your true potential, then this book is for you.
2. Man’s Search for Meaning
Our list of best psychological books will be incomplete without Viktor Frankl’s masterpiece Man’s search for meaning.
He scribbles his experience and situations in nazi concentration camps and shares his patient’s experiences.
The author argues in his book that having a purpose and meaning in life helps humans to face any situation.
This influential book presents the idea that emotions that are suffering would cease to be suffering once we become able to see the clear picture of it.
1. Thinking, Fast and Slow
On top of our list of best psychology books is thinking fast and slow by Daniel Kahneman.
The author gives us insights into the functioning of the brain. He argues that our mind has two systems; the first one is fast, intuitive, and the second one is slower, more deliberative, and more logical.
He provides insights on whether to trust our intuitions or not. He further reveals how we can take benefit of both the system and make our life better.
This book will remold the way you think.
If you haven’t read it, then it is time to grab the book.
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