Human Psychology

Pioneering research psychologist Roy F. Baumeister collaborates with New York Times science writer John Tierney to revolutionize our understanding of the most coveted human virtue: self-control. Drawing on cutting-edge research and the wisdom of real-life experts, Willpower shares lessons on how to focus our strength, resist temptation, and redirect our lives. It shows listeners how to be realistic when setting goals, monitor their progress, and how to keep faith when they falter.

We've all seen the happiness on the face of a child while playing in the school yard. Or the blissful abandon of a golden retriever racing across a lawn. This is the joy of play. By definition, play is purposeless, all-consuming, and fun. But as Dr. Stuart Brown illustrates, play is anything but trivial. It is a biological drive as integral to our health as sleep or nutrition. We are designed by nature to flourish through play.

C’est avec son cerveau qu’on aime le mieux. Aujourd’hui, les coachings et méthodes de développement personnel fleurissent sur Internet en matière d’amour et de sexualité. Mais ils contiennent beaucoup de clichés et d’erreurs scientifiques. Par exemple, sachez que le concept de mâle alpha vient d'un emballement médiatique et que pour faire remonter sa libido, il vaut mieux dormir. Aurore Malet-Karas s’appuie sur la biologie, en repartant de la théorie de la sélection sexuelle de Darwin.

Is There Sex After Marriage? is the answer for the millions of Americans trapped in the cycle of low- or no-sex marriages. Contrary to the widespread cultural acceptance, from TV shows to standup comedy, sex doesn't have to end once the honeymoon does. Seasoned sex-pert Carol Botwin brings her decades of relationship experience to bear and teaches couples with no-nonsense candor and plenty of humor how to rekindle the fire they had in their courtship, and how to keep it burning forever.

Written in Shipp's playfully authoritative, no-nonsense voice, The Grown-Up's Guide to Teenage Humans tells his story and unpacks practical strategies that can make a difference. Ultimately, it's not about shortcuts or magic words - as Shipp reminds us, it's about investing in kids and giving them the love, time, and support they need to thrive. And that means every kid is one caring adult away from being a success story.

Contrary to popular belief, our predecessors had all sorts of obscene hobbies long before Christian Grey hit the scene. In this enlightening romp, learn about the first instances of homosexuality on record from the ancient world and the diverse history of nonbinary gender; encounter a thousand years’ worth of hilarious and horrifying contraceptive methods; consider the positive and negative effects of the widespread availability of pornography in the digital age; and more.

By the end of on average day in the early 21st century, human beings searching the Internet will amass eight trillion gigabytes of data. This staggering amount of information - unprecedented in history - can tell us a great deal about who we are - the fears, desires, and behaviors that drive us, and the conscious and unconscious decisions we make. From the profound to the mundane, we can gain astonishing knowledge about the human psyche that less than 20 years ago seemed unfathomable.

Customers everywhere describe their interactions with companies in a deeply personal way: We hate our banks, love our smartphones, and think the cable company is out to get us. What is actually going through our brains when we make these judgments? Customer loyalty expert Chris Malone and top social psychologist Susan Fiske have discovered that our perceptions arise from spontaneous judgments on warmth and competence, the same two factors that also determine our impressions of people.

For all men and women who thirst to love and be loved by a woman, these words and stories of guidance from Clarissa Pinkola Estes are aqua vitea, the water for life and soul. Dr. Estes teaches that in love relationships, each partner challenges, nourishes and transforms the other. To achieve this lifelong love requires an understanding of the mysterious internal cycles that fuel relationships.

The hookup is now part of college life. Yet the drunken encounter we always hear about tells only a fraction of the story. Rising above misinformation and moralizing, Lisa Wade offers the definitive account of this new sexual culture and demonstrates that the truth is both more heartening and more harrowing than we thought. Offering invaluable insights for parents, educators, and students, Wade situates hookup culture within the history of sexuality, the evolution of higher education, and the unfinished feminist revolution.

The Ellipsis Manual is the kind of book that used to be locked away deep in a vault underground, far away from the prying eyes of those who could misuse its power.

Most people, including many policy makers, activists, scientists, and philosophers, have encouraged us to be more empathetic - to feel the pain and pleasure of others. Yale researcher and author Paul Bloom argues that this is a mistake. Far from leading us to improve the lives of others, empathy is a capricious and irrational emotion that appeals to our narrow prejudices. It muddles our judgment and often leads to cruelty. We are at our best when we are smart enough not to rely on it and draw upon a more distanced compassion.

Embarking on a non-monogamous relationship can be a daunting experience, opening old wounds that cause anxiety, fear, and confusion, something Lola Phoenix knows about all too well. In this all-you-need-to-know guide to exploring non-monogamy, polyamory, and open relationships, Lola draws upon their years of experience in giving advice and being non-monogamous to provide guidance for every stage of your journey, helping you to prioritize your mental health and wellbeing along the way.

In this contribution to the emerging men's movement, Robert Moore, a Jungian psychoanalyst and Douglas Gillette, a mythologist, examine the inner King - one of the four archetypes on the male psyche. The inner King integrates power and nurturing, firmness and caring, courage and creativity, self-affirmation and self-sacrifice. From his central position between the world of imagination and the world of action, the King within challenges every man to take up his own scepter, to dream and to make them come true.

In the 21st century, humanity is reaching new heights of scientific understanding - and at the same time appears to be losing its mind. How can a species that developed vaccines for COVID-19 in less than a year produce so much fake news, medical quackery, and conspiracy theorizing? Pinker rejects the cynical cliché that humans are an irrational species - cavemen out of time saddled with biases, fallacies, and illusions.

For women today, achieving a successful career, a fulfilling romantic relationship, and a rewarding personal life can feel like opposing goals, leaving their deepest yearnings just beyond reach. It has even become difficult to enjoy the simplest pleasures of our lives. We are stuck in “go mode", damaging our romantic relationships, pleasure, and creativity. But what if there were a way to experience the simplest pleasures of our lives on a deeper level, freeing the body and psyche from these damaging patterns?

This book is not a 10-step plan to survive the zombie apocalypse, or a survival guide for natural disasters. It is a discussion on human psychology and physiology, and the threats posed by starvation psychosis during a prolonged, total collapse scenario.

Magnificent Sex is based on the largest, in-depth interview study ever conducted with people who are having extraordinary sex. It gathers the nuggets for remarkable sex from the "experts", distilling them into an attainable blueprint for ordinary lovers who want to make erotic intimacy grow over the course of a lifetime.

Gravity affects every aspect of our physical being, but there’s a psychological force just as powerful - yet almost nobody has heard of it. It’s responsible for bringing groups of people together and pulling them apart, making certain goals attractive to some and not to others, and fueling cycles of anxiety and conflict. In Wanting, Luke Burgis draws on the work of French polymath René Girard to bring this hidden force to light and reveals how it shapes our lives and societies.

We've been thinking about sex all wrong. Mainstream media, movies, and porn have taught us that sex = penis + vagina, and everything else is just secondary. Standard penetration is how men most reliably achieve orgasm. The problem is, women don't orgasm this way. We've separated our most reliable route to orgasm - clitoral stimulation - from how we feel we should orgasm - penetration. As a result we've created a pleasure gap between women and men.