The 10 best Psychology books (for professionals and curious)

Books are a very powerful weapon of knowledge. Psychology is a discipline that has produced a large body of literature of all kinds. In libraries we can find very technical and dense works, but also informative books with easy and even fun language. For this reason, whether you are a psychologist or not, you have no excuse not to investigate a little more in this exciting field. There is such a range of options that surely there is a book that fits what interests you most and your previous knowledge.

On many occasions, great figures in psychology who have developed brilliant academic careers have opted to write books accessible to the general public, in order to bring psychology closer to everyone. In addition, the popularity of this science that we call psychology has grown remarkably in recent years, so readers are increasingly demanding more tools that allow them to educate themselves on issues of mind and behavior human.

In short, reading is knowledge and knowledge is power. Knowing how we think, feel and act can be not only interesting but also useful when managing our own psychological functioning on a day-to-day basis.

If you are interested in starting to read about psychology or simply want to expand your library, here are ten essential titles.

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What are the best Psychology books?

In this list we will collect some of the essential titles that you can read if you are interested in psychology. Of course, there are many more, since literary preferences are very personal. In addition, in this list we have tried to combine somewhat more technical books with others of a more informative nature and closer to the reader without prior knowledge on the subject.

1. Think fast, think slow (Daniel Kahneman)

In this play, Nobel laureate in economics Daniel Kahneman compiles findings from decades of research. The author explains in detail the way people think. Essentially, Kahneman understands that humans have two systems of thought. On the one hand, an intuitive one, which is fast and we use it automatically.

On the other hand, a slow and rational system, which we use to reflect consciously. In this book he tries to explain when it is appropriate to use one or the other system and in what way to use the wrong system can harm us when making economic decisions but also vital.

2. Emotional intelligence (Daniel Goleman)

Dr. Daniel Goleman explains in this famous book what emotional skills are useful for leading a full and satisfying life. In this work, the author breaks with the traditional idea of ​​intelligence, understood as a cognitive capacity strictly linked to the intellectual quotient of individuals.

For him, this perspective is poor and leaves crucial aspects of life that go beyond technical knowledge. Thus, the missing piece in the puzzle are those skills related to emotional intelligence, such as empathy, perseverance or impulse control. Goleman thus manages to explain why people with high intellectual abilities do not achieve success expected, while others with a more standard IQ manage to become individuals successful.

Similarly, the author indicates that the absence of these emotional capacities can lead to psychological, work, family and social problems. However, he highlights the modifiable nature of these skills and offers a guide to training them.

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3. The man who mistook his wife for a hat (Oliver Sacks)

This British neurologist and writer he narrated in this book the stories of twenty of his neurological patients. With this work, Sacks tries to reflect the reality of people suffering from neurological diseases. The book invites us to reflect on the loss of memory and, with it, the previous life that has been lived. He speaks of those individuals unable to recognize their own family or the most everyday objects.

However, it not only speaks of deficits, but also of the artistic and scientific potentialities of many of these people. This book is a classic, especially if you are interested in learning about everything related to diseases of this type and the challenges they pose for patients and their families.

4. Man's Search for Meaning (Viktor E. Frankl)

This Austrian neurologist, psychiatrist and philosopher he recounts in first person his own experience as a prisoner in concentration camps. The author narrates how, during those years of suffering, he loses absolutely everything except his own existence. Despite all the atrocities he saw and experienced, Frankl reflects on how life deserves to be lived, since he understands that the inner freedom of individuals and their dignity remain even in said circumstances.

The author defends the ability of the human being to overcome difficulties and discover, beyond all of them, the real and deep meaning of his life. Frankl also proposes his therapeutic method known as logotherapy, which focuses on the person's search for meaning. This book has been rated as one of the most influential books in America and, without a doubt, it is a classic that will stir you up.

5. The Process of Becoming a Person: My Therapeutic Technique (Carl Rogers)

In this work, the famous psychologist Carl Rogers, one of the fathers of humanistic therapy, raises his conception of psychological therapy. From his vision, Rogers defends a style of therapist whose function is, more than curing a sick patient, to understand the person in front of him.

The therapeutic relationship is seen as a counseling process that focuses on the person himself. Thus, the therapist must opt ​​for a non-directive attitude and perceive his client as an integrated whole and not as someone divided into healthy and diseased parts. Therapy is, thus seen, as a process by which the client undergoes a process of growth and maturation that allows him to become a person. This work will be very interesting if you want to familiarize yourself with the humanistic perspective of psychology.

6. More Plato and less Prozac (Loy Marinoff)

This book is another of the classics that could not be missing from our list. The author proposes to apply philosophy in order to make it a whole lifestyle. Marinoff draws on the most important philosophers in history and uses his teachings to deal with aspects of our lives such as love, death, changes, etc.

The title reflects very well the conception of this author. In times when everything wants to be solved at the stroke of a pill, he proposes to face the challenges of life and suffering according to what the authors of antiquity postulated.

7. The clean sweep (Steven Pinker)

In this play, Pinker he analyzes a series of widely established myths in reference to the way we learn about the world around us and the way society evolves. The author maintains that in human beings there are innate propensities that affect their way of acting and perceiving reality. The daring of this author when it comes to delving into very complex philosophical questions makes this book a basic of psychology.

8. Obedience to authority (Stanley Milgram)

Milgram carried out famous experiments related to obedience to authority and morals. What motivated this author to carry them out was the death sentence of Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem for crimes against humanity during the German Nazi regime. What Milgram wanted was to understand how a person could commit such atrocities.

More concretely, wanted to see to what extent people can obey orders regardless of the consequences they have. His hypothesis was that perhaps, and only perhaps, Eichmann and all the accomplices to the Holocaust were basically following orders. Milgram's experiments were highly controversial, although today the scientific community regards these works as a milestone in psychology.

9. Step by Step Family Therapy (Virginia Satir)

Virginia Satir is considered one of the pioneers in family therapy. This social worker and therapist prepared this manual in order to compile work strategies at the family level. Satir defended the importance of individual therapeutic work, but considered that without a correct family approach this was insufficient. For her, the family must respect individual differentiation, maintain open communication and tolerate mistakes. If you are a psychologist and you are interested in getting closer to the exciting world of family therapy, this is your book.

10. The candy test (Walter Mischel)

In the 1960s a simple but ingenious experiment was developed by psychologist Walter Mischel. In it, several children were presented with a dilemma. After receiving a palatable treat, they were instructed to eat it immediately or wait five minutes for an additional treat. What Mischel observed was that some children knew how to expect the delayed reward, while others were unable to resist the urge to devour it the second.

Longitudinal studies carried out with children participating in this experiment made it possible to draw shocking conclusions. Those who once knew how to wait for the reward became more successful adults academically, socially and cognitively than those who could not contain the urge.

A) Yes, Michel talks about how self-control is essential to achieve success in life and how it can be trained and applied to people's everyday lives. If you are interested in learning more about impulse control and its importance to the life path, this book is the key.