Ebook: How We Decide

Social psychology is one of my favorite subjects, and why and what people do what they do is endlessly fascinating. This is an excellent entry into the field: witty, accessible, and (with a couple of exceptions) not overstated; it is everything a lay psychology book should be. Some, but not all, of the tendencies described will be familiar to anyone who has heard of Amos Tversky, but the twist here is the neuroscience that is included. Even familiar social psychological tendencies are newly explained with brain imaging studies that add to our understanding. One problem I have with psychology books is remembering the things I've learned moments after I've learned them. In his final chapter, Lehrer includes a helpful taxonomy of what he has covered, that eases this difficulty -- at least to the end of the book.