15 Best Psychology Books Of All Time [2023]

Books are the best. Isn’t it nice to get lost in a book? For a book lover, there is nothing better than that. Books are for everyone, it doesn’t matters which genre you like or how weird you are, you can always find a book or two to read.
This article is especially dedicated to Psychology books. We all love reading about psychology as it covers a wide range of topics. Some of them include social psychology, behavioral psychology, and even neurology. So people can learn so much from psychology books. There would be a lot to learn and sometimes to adapt as well.
The thing is, reading psychology is like understanding other people or the reasons why we do what we do. This would give you a sense of understanding and surely is pretty helpful as well. The psychology books can surely expand your understanding and the way you would react to certain circumstances in your life as well.
There are so many good psychology books present out there. And this makes it quite difficult to choose one. So we have decided to come up with a list of the best Psychology Books that you must read. Go ahead and see the list of best Psychology books and pick one or two (or all) for yourself.

Best Psychology books

1. Influence: Science and Practice by Robert B. Cialdini

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If you are looking for the best book on Psychology then Influence: Science and Practice might be a good option for you. The book is about the science of Persuasion. The book has been written by famous author Robert B. Cialdini. And he has done such good work with the book which got everyone’s attention.
The book has been written in an easy to understand manner and it’s highly intuitive. So if you are not a reader till now and still trying to start the habit of reading then you would love this book. It is filled with many excellent examples which makes it one of the best psychology books.
The author has not only told us the psychology of Persuasion but also teaching us how to defend ourselves from persuasion. It’s surely an amazing book to read and the book will something that will help you understand so many things with some simple writings. It’s a classic and you should read it sometime.

2. The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt

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If you are one of those people who have always wondered about the practices of ancient times and ancient wisdom then this book is surely for you. Jonathan Haidt has done an excellent job by writing about ancient wisdom that also includes ancient practices and beliefs and he has put them under modern scrutiny.
To write about this, he has used his understanding and knowledge of psychology and neuroscience. And he used this knowledge to make us understand the ancient system. He has done this in a witty yet comprehensive way.
You will learn about the myth and the truth about such practices. He has also done a brilliant job when it comes to providing a solution and making me feel privileged and gave us a responsibility to find happiness for ourselves. This one is must read the book and we can’t put in words how much we have enjoyed this book. It’s practically a witty and psychology book that you need in your life.

3. A Man Who Mistook His Wife for A Hat and Other Clinical Tales by Oliver Sacks

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Next on our list of best Psychology books is Oliver Sacks’s A Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales. Oliver Sacks is a renowned neurologist. And he has had a very successful career as well.
This book is kinda a record for his word cases. Here Oliver has compiled several cases in this book. He has come across all these interesting and unbelievable cases in his career. In fact, this book is named after a case as well. There is a condition where people can’t recognize things as they are unable to interpret visual information. Here Oliver comes across a case where he can’t recognize his leg. There are so many stories or cases that you will find extremely weird and unbelievable.
The point of this book is to make us understand the things that can go wrong in our brain and how we would be unable to do the simplest task. It’s a funny yet interesting book to read if you wanna know about interesting neurological cases.

4. Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

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If you daily face a break or make a decision kinda circumstances then this one is the best Psychological book that you can read. The book consists of a summary of research that has been done by Kahneman over the years. Kahneman challenges the various cognitive biases people subconsciously posted by people. And how they apply these things day after day. The book talks about the two different parts of the brain, one is primal or instinctive and the other is critical and rational section. Both parts are important in decision making and how they work in the process of decision making is what this book taught us.
In simpler words, this book teaches us the simple science or process of decision making. The applications mention in these books can be applied in various situations from making an ordinary decision at home or cooking or cracking a huge business deal. There is a slow and fast way of thinking and how they impact our decision making is all this book ever teach us. So if you wanna learn about the science of decision making then it’s one of the best psychology books that you can read.

5. Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to be Persuasive

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The book is pretty informative. So people who seek information and knowledge out of a psychology book must read this book. The book features a rabbit hole read. Here the book focuses on quick studies. But it won’t be too deep to make you sleep or get you bored or confused at the same time. The book is all you need to start reading about persuasion. And there are so many studies and cases that you would love to just read the whole book in a single sitting.

6. Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

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The next one on our list is a pretty important book to read for all of us. And that is why it made a spot on our best psychology books list. It has been written by the talented Heath brothers and they have done such an amazing job with this book.
The book somehow tries to answer some of the most asked questions by people – why is it so hard to make a change in our lives or society? Clearly, there is no single answer but the way the Heath brothers have written the book has surely won our hearts. The well-structured arguments and intuitive writing style would win your heart for sure.

7. Flow: The Psychology of Happiness by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

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Flow: The Psychology of Happiness is another popular psychology book that you would wanna read sometime. The author has shown us an unexpected yet mind-blowing take on happiness. The author has done years of research on how our happiness is affected by the work we commit ourselves to.
He argues that happiness can be achieved through a mental state called Flow. It is when the high skills met with challenging work and this is what shapes an individual and happiness. It must read a book for all those people who are working in a skilled professional or a regularly worked hobby.

8. Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely

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Predictably Irrational is our next best psychology book and it has successfully made it to our list. The book is written by Dan Ariely, who is a behavioral economist. He rejects the popular belief that human makes rational decisions. He has also suggested that all humans make decisions irrationally. To prove his theory and arguments, he has given us some excellent examples. The book examines several factors including expectations, emotions, social norms, and so on.
He also says that we make irrational mistakes and these mistakes are rather predictable. He also suggests some advice on breaking this irrational behavior. This is a kind of book that reflects your own behavior and how you can change your irrational behavior. It an interesting book that will make you think about your behavior.

9. Mindfulness by Mark Williams and Danny Penman

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Mindfulness is a must-read psychology book and it is surely one of the top psychology books that you can find out there. The book is relatable on so many levels and this book teaches us some of the most valuable lessons about finding peace.
The book tells us how we can lose so much in the daily chaos and find ourselves running for meaningless things. And in between these things we forget to make time for ourselves and find a moment full of peace. The book gives a different meaning to finding peace on a psychological level. This one is too good to be miss out on. So go ahead get this one now.

10. Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman

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The craze of IQ has been fading for quite some time now. And there is a new phenomenon that keeps everyone more engaged and that is EQ – emotional intelligence. And this one is pretty good actually.
The book tells us that having emotional intelligence is more important than having a higher IQ to find personal happiness and good mental health. Emotional intelligence relates to handling our own emotions as well as handling and identifying the emotions of others. It’s a thought-provoking book that you should not miss out on.

11. 50 Great Myths of Psychology: Shattering Widespread Misconceptions about Human Behaviour

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We all have our misconceptions about psychology and human behaviors and that needs to be broken. This book does the job very well for us. The book is well written and talks about several myths and why the authors aren’t considering them as truth.

12. A Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry – Jon Ronson

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A Psychopath Test is another amazing psychology book that you must read. The book features the story of some psychopaths and the psychologists who study them. There are several cases and each one of them is worthy of your time and energy. It’s an interesting book and you would certainly find it entertaining.

13. The Art of Choosing by Sheena Iyengar

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The Art of Choosing talks about the external influences that affect our choices. The book highlights our basic psychology behind human choices. The author has asked many thought-provoking questions and gave some mind-blowing facts to prove her theories. It’s a simple yet mind-blowing book.

14. Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert

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Stumbling on Happiness has also managed to make a spot in our list of best psychology books to read. The book focuses on the functioning of the brain and how it can fool us sometimes. It’s not a self-help book instead it is a psychological book that talks about the process of our brain and how it works. The book consists of the years of research by Gilbert and there are so many insightful factors that would give you a positive feeling.

15. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivate Us by Daniel H. Pink

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We can never really understand what truly motivates us. And that’s where this book comes in handy. What seems like a self-book is a study on the topic of Motivation. It helps us understand the motivation in the workplace and how intrinsic and extrinsic motivation works for us. The book is pretty helpful for the work people as it helps both employees and employers and how both of them can be motivated.

Conclusion

So these are the most popular Psychology book that you can read. We have picked up some of the most recommended psychology books. So you won’t have to worry about getting the wrong books. If it’s your first time reading a book then we suggest you stick to our list of best psychology books. From experts to common readers, everyone loves these books equally.
Overall, we have done our job and now it’s your turn to pick a book from our list and have a good reading experience. Thank you.

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