When it comes to books on (applied) behaviroal
science, titles such as Nudge: Improving
Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness by Richard H Thaler and Cass R
Sunstein, Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape Our Decisions by
Dan Ariely and Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman capture the headlines
and are top of mind.
There are, however, some other great books on or
related to behavioral science that somehow fall under the radar. Here are five
of them
First:
Priceless: The Myth of Fair Value (and How to Take Advantage of It) by
William Poundstone
William Poundstone is a journalist, not a
behavioral scientist. Although I became allergic to books written by
non-academics, I have to admit that Priceless is The Best Book on Behavioral
Science I read so far. Yes! It is better than the all famous Thinking Fast and
Slow, at least in my opinion.
William Poundstone does a great job in
summarizing a huge array of academic research in Behavioral Science and writes
in a very human-accessible way. Now, Priceless is not popular science, it’s not
a book to read while sitting on the toilet. It keeps science intact and links
it to real life situations.
Second and third are two books that go together very well.
The Rational Animal: How Evolution Made Us Smarter Than We Think by
Douglas T. Kenrick and Vladas Griskevicius
Spent: Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behavior by Geoffrey Miller
These two books bring the evolutionary
psychology perspective to human behaviour. Although they don’t have huge
practical value, their beauty comes from giving very nice explanations for what
is often seen as irrational behaviour. These two books simply cast a new light
on human behaviour and remind us that, in the end, we are all products of
evolution (natural and sexual selection).
Fourth,
Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the
Markets by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
N.N. Taleb is known mostly for The Black Swan
and recently for Antifragile. Fooled by randomness is Taleb’s first book and to
be honest it is much more humane than The Black Swan. Although a bit old,
Fooled by Randomness is a wonderful read.
The book is not necessarily about behavioral
science, but it gives great illustrations of cognitive biases in everyday life.
Fifth,
Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty
by Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo
Poor Economics is a great collection of
(potential solutions) for alleviating poverty and includes many Nudge like
approaches. Although it is more economics than behavioral, this book gives a
very practical approach to the use of findings from behavioral science.
Bonus,
I couldn’t make a reading list without
including
Naturally I’m biased when evaluating this book,
but I do recommend it because it is one of the very few books which explains
(in depth) the psychological mechanisms that are behind the main findings from
behavioral science.
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