A very enjoyable and varied selection for lovers of this scientific discipline.
In this article we will see a selection of very useful psychology books to satisfy us in these two aspects of reading: learning and the sensation of fascination. These are works that cover a wide variety of topics related to behavioral science, so in this list you will find something for everyone.
Recommended Psychology Books
Read the descriptions of these psychology books to find out how well they fit what you’re looking for.
1. A course of emotions (Jesús Matos Larrinaga)
This is a book especially recommended for those interested in improving their emotional management skills, and it is based on a powerful idea: happiness requires accepting a certain level of discomfort and what we usually call “negative emotions”.
Its author, Jesús Matos Larrinaga , is a Spanish psychologist specializing in offering professional support to adults with mood disorders and the regulation of discomfort in their day-to-day life, and has an important facet as a disseminator: he frequently participates in media communication, has participated in TED Talks.
Throughout its pages, “A Course on Emotions” gives the theoretical and practical keys to live making our entire repertoire of emotions that we have, without trying to exclude a part of them.
- Buy the book here .
2. Guide for moms and dads in trouble (Miguel Ángel Rizaldos)
One of the most studied topics in the field of Psychology is the education of children. And it is that, when we have the experience of being parents, it is likely that we find ourselves totally lost about how we should approach education and attend to the needs of our offspring.
The Spanish clinical psychologist Miguel Ángel Rizaldos , after several decades of dedication to the therapy of adults and children, has condensed all his knowledge and experience in a book that will allow us to have educational guidelines to be better parents and to be able to enjoy the experience of sharing time with our children.
A book especially recommended for fathers and mothers who wish to take a leap in quality in their educational tools. With a prologue by sports psychologist Patricia Ramírez.
- You can buy it at this link .
3. Psychologically speaking: a journey through the wonders of the mind (Adrián Triglia, Bertrand Regader and Jonathan García-Allen)
Those who are looking for introductory psychology books will find in this title a great ally to learn quickly and in an enjoyable way.
From the hand of the creators of the Psychology and Mind portal , its pages review almost all the major fields of research that this scientific discipline has been addressing over the last decades, and explain the most interesting findings based on examples and illustrations.
What exactly is the unconscious? How do we learn? How does what other people do influence us? These and many other issues are addressed here.
- Here is the link if you want to buy it .
4. Good morning, joy: How to overcome sadness and achieve emotional balance (Jesús Matos Larrinaga)
In this book, the well-known Spanish psychologist Jesús Matos Larrinaga offers a program designed to include changes in habits in our daily lives and combat sadness and symptoms of depression , one of the most common psychological disorders in our days.
In this way, it shows several practical and simple guidelines to apply so that, in a constant and systematic way, we transform our emotional state from changes in our behavior and in our way of relating to the environment and to others.
It is a work accessible to all kinds of people, without the need for them to have training in psychology, and it includes clear examples so that no one gets lost in any section of this route made up of simple exercises.
- If you want to buy it through Amazon, here is the link .
5. The Perks of Desire (Dan Ariely)
We normally assume that being rational is better than being irrational, but in reality this does not always have to be the case.
In this interesting book, New York psychologist and popularizer Dan Ariely explains the usefulness of rational thought in specific contexts.
Based on real experiments, Ariely tells us about decision making and the way in which we decide depending on information that objectively should not be relevant to us. In short, this author explains the psychological mechanisms by which our emotions have a very important weight when choosing what car we buy, what clothes we wear or with whom we interact.
One of those books that will delight both psychology students and professionals, as well as those who are curious about this science.
- Go to this link to buy the book .
6. The man who mistook his wife for a hat (Oliver Sacks)
This book by Oliver Sacks is surely the most popular of an author, celebrated internationally as one of the greatest scientific popularizers of our time.
In it, this English neurologist, who died in 2015, describes cases of real patients with severe neurological disorders (some of them related to perception, as intuited in the title of this work), and explains how Despite their affectations, they preserved their humanity and continued with their lives.
This book is perfect to see to what extent changes in the brain can modify key aspects of our personality or very specific psychological functions, so it is highly recommended for those who are interested in neuropsychology.
- You can buy the book here .
7. Think fast, think slow (Daniel Kahneman)
Daniel Kahneman ‘s research led him to win a Nobel Prize, and reading this book it is easy to see why. It is a work that investigates the psychological mechanisms behind human thought and our ability to make decisions in everyday situations.
In it, Kahneman describes two relatively independent systems of thought, each with its advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand he describes the quick, partially unconscious and superficial thinking that we adopt when dealing with matters of little relevance, and on the other hand he shows examples of rational thought that requires voluntary effort to reach a conclusion.
Understanding both logics is very important to know why we think as we do.
8. 50 great myths of popular psychology (Various authors)
On many occasions, before learning about a subject, we must unlearn all those erroneous beliefs about it that we cling to.
This is one of the best psychology books for busting behavioral science myths, and it’s also very easy to read, as it’s divided into thematic sections.
9. Emotional Intelligence (Daniel Goleman)
Daniel Goleman is known above all for concentrating on the task of disseminating everything that is known about Emotional Intelligence, a very useful set of mental skills that is often overlooked in favor of forms of intelligence that are more directly applicable to production. .
This work explains how this type of intelligence is reflected in our personal relationships and in our ability to regulate our emotions. The main idea is very suggestive: we can take advantage of the existence of emotions, pleasant or unpleasant, to live better and happier lives.
10. La tabla rasa (Steven Pinker)
Steven Pinker uses this work as a platform to criticize one of the most widespread ideas about psychology: that all people are born with a “blank” mind, ready to be filled with content that will determine the way in which we behave according to the experiences that we live in the day to day.
This psychologist defends the opposite idea: that we innately have mental “modules” that predispose us to behave in certain ways, and not in others.
This is one of the best known books on evolutionary psychology around the world, and it is not by chance; It explains exhaustively and extensively the premises on which this field of psychological research is based, giving many examples.
11. Brain and freedom (Joaquín M. Fuster)
Lovers of psychology and philosophy will especially enjoy this book, since it addresses the subject of free will from the study of the human brain.
To what extent can it be said that we act freely, if our actions arise mainly from a set of nervous organs subjected to the laws of nature?
The Spanish neuroscientist Joaquín M. Fuster addresses an issue that is beyond the realm of science, but starting from a rigorous and scientifically validated study of the brain.
12. The book of psychology (Various authors)
An interesting and complete psychology book that, as its title indicates, shows the main discoveries in this science. But he also does it in a very pleasant and direct way, using diagrams and illustrations to summarize complex ideas in a simple way.
Going through its chapters means learning about the lives and scientific contributions of the most important researchers in the history of psychology.
To the classic question “what do you do?” I always answer “basically I am a psychologist”. In fact, my academic training has revolved around the psychology of development, education and community, a field of study influenced my volunteer activities, as well as my first work experiences in personal services.
