Top 100 Behavioral Science Books, Selected by Experts

BEST-OF LIST

The Top 99 Books on Behavioral Science

Hand-picked. The best of the best.

The Behavioral Foundations of Public Policy

George Akerlof,Richard Nisbett,Uri Gneezy

Product,Design,Behavioral Economics,Environmental Restructuring,Social Psych,Nudges & Choice Architecture

Mindware: Tools for Smart Thinking

Richard Nisbett

Dan Gilbert,Carol Dweck,Jonathan Haidt

Decision Science,Management,Product

Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction

Chris York,Cass Sunstein,Daniel Kahneman,Adam Grant,Steven Pinker,Michael Mauboussin

Decision Science,Product

Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World--and Why Things Are Better Than You Think

Hans Rosling,Anna Rosling Rönnlund,Ola Rosling

Bill Gates,Barack Obama

Habit Formation,Design,Decision Science

The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life

Kevin Simler,Robin Hanson

Decision Science,Social Psych,Product,Marketing

Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness

Cass Sunstein,Richard Thaler

Steve Levitt,Daniel Kahneman,Dan Gilbert,Don Norman,Barry Schwartz

Behavioral Economics,Environmental Restructuring,Design,Loss Aversion,Automation,Health,Nudges & Choice Architecture,Behavioral Science,Finance

Alchemy: The Dark Art and Curious Science of Creating Magic in Brands, Business, and Life

Rory Sutherland

Robert Cialdini,Nassim Taleb

Design,Product,Marketing

More Than Good Intentions: Improving the Ways the World's Poor Borrow, Save, Farm, Learn, and Stay Healthy

Dean Karlan,Jacob Appel

Richard Thaler,Robert Schiller,Tyler Cowen

Behavioral Economics,Nudges & Choice Architecture,Finance

The Invisible Gorilla: And Other Ways Our Intuitions Deceive Us

Christopher Chabris,Daniel Simons

Nassim Taleb,Dan Ariely,Dan Gilbert,Steven Pinker,Nicholas Christakis,Elizabeth Loftus,Tim Houlihan

Decision Science,Management

The Wisest One in the Room: How You Can Benefit from Social Psychology's Most Powerful Insights

Lee Ross,Tom Gilovich

Malcolm Gladwell,Dan Gilbert,Dan Ariely

Social Psych,Decision Science,Management,Design,Behavior Change,Product

Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst

Robert Sapolsky

Jonathan Haidt,Charles Duhigg

Behavior Change,Social Psych

The Craving Mind: From Cigarettes to Smartphones to Love — Why We Get Hooked and How We Can Break Bad Habits

Habit Formation,Design,Environmental Restructuring,Substance Use or Addiction,Alcohol Use or Addiction,Willpower,Health,Mindfulness

The Smarter Screen: Surprising Ways to Inﬂuence and Improve Online Behavior

Shlomo Benartzi

Eldar Shafir,Dan Ariely,Robert Schiller,Rory Sutherland,Chris York

Design,Behavior Change,Environmental Restructuring,Reduce Friction,Mobile,Finance

Who Gets What - And Why: The New Economics of Matchmaking and Market Design

Design,Behavioral Economics,Rewards & Incentives,Product,Environmental Restructuring,Nudges & Choice Architecture

Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions

Chris York,George Akerlof,Sam Salzer

Decision Science,Product,Management,Behavioral Economics,Rewards & Incentives,Environmental Restructuring,Reduce Friction,Loss Aversion,Pricing,Mental Accounting,Nudges & Choice Architecture,Behavioral Science,Cognitive Bias

Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts

Cass Sunstein,Marc Andreesen,Seth Godin,Philip Tetlock,Kurt Nelson

Habit Formation,Decision Science

Start at the End: How to Build Products That Create Change

Design,Behavior Change,Habit Formation,Environmental Restructuring,Reduce Friction

The Consuming Instinct

Marketing,Habit Formation,Social Psych

Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being

Martin Seligman

Positive Psych,Mental Health

Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions

Tom Griffiths,Brian Christian

Decision Science,Product,Management,Data

Thinking, Fast and Slow

Daniel Kahneman

Richard Thaler,Steve Levitt,Steven Pinker

Behavioral Economics,Management,Loss Aversion,Nudges & Choice Architecture,Cognitive Bias

Everything Is Obvious: *Once You Know the Answer

Dan Ariely,Dan Gilbert,Sudhir Venkatesh

Decision Science,Management

Ending the Management Illusion: How to Drive Business Results Using the Principles of Behavioral Finance

Decision Science,Management,Work Behaviors,Hiring

Metaphors We Live By

George Lakoff,Mark Johnson

The Art of Choosing

Decision Science,Product,Management,Behavioral Economics,Rewards & Incentives,Environmental Restructuring,Reduce Friction,Nudges & Choice Architecture

Exotic Preferences: Behavioral Economics and Human Motivation

George Loewenstein

Behavioral Economics,Nudges & Choice Architecture

The Design of Everyday Things

Tim Brown,Chris York

Design,Product,Environmental Restructuring,Reduce Friction

Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society

Nicholas Christakis

Steven Pinker,Dan Gilbert,Angela Duckworth,Paul Bloom,Jonathan Haidt,Cass Sunstein,Marc Andreesen,Adam Grant

The Knowledge Illusion: Why We Never Think Alone

Philip Fernbach,Steven Sloman

Steven Pinker,Cass Sunstein

Decision Science,Social Psych

Everybody Lies: What Big Data Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are

Seth Stephens-Davidowitz

Mindwise: How We Understand What Others Think, Believe, Feel, and Want

Steve Levitt,Dan Gilbert,Steven Pinker,Jonathan Haidt

Social Psych,Behavioral Economics,Product,Nudges & Choice Architecture,Growth

Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Street

Sudhir Venkatesh

Social Psych,Behavioral Economics,Environmental Restructuring,Nudges & Choice Architecture

Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise

Anders Ericsson

Seth Godin,Stephen Dubner

Management,Behavior Change

Invisible Inﬂuence

Robert Cialdini,Charles Duhigg,Arianna Huffington

Social Psych,Decision Science

The Social Animal

Robert Cialdini,Adam Grant,Dan Gilbert,Elizabeth Loftus

Think Small: The Surprisingly Simple Ways to Reach Big Goals

Rory Gallagher,Owain Service

Richard Thaler,Cass Sunstein,Rory Sutherland

Behavioral Economics,Behavior Change,Rewards & Incentives,Environmental Restructuring,Reduce Friction,Nudges & Choice Architecture

Left Brain, Right Stuff: How Leaders Make Winning Decisions

Phil Rosenzweig

Management,Decision Science

The Person and the Situation

Lee Ross,Richard Nisbett

Malcolm Gladwell

Social Psych,Environmental Restructuring

Situations Matter: Understanding How Context Transforms Your World

Leonard Mlodinow,Tyler Cowen

Social Psych,Social Norms,Environmental Restructuring,Nudges & Choice Architecture

Driven: How Human Nature Shapes Our Choices

Paul Lawrence,Nitin Nohria

Social Psych,Behavioral Economics,Behavior Change,Decision Science,Nudges & Choice Architecture

The Willpower Instinct

Kelly McGonigal

Willpower,Behavior Change

The Secret of Our Success

Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior

Leonard Mlodinow

Daniel Simons,Christof Koch,David Eagleman

Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life

Bill Burnett,Dave Evans

Social Psych,Positive Psych,Environmental Restructuring,Habit Formation,Design

Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me)

Carol Tavris,Elliot Aronson

Dan Gilbert,Robert Cialdini

Management,Decision Science,Product,Behavioral Science,Cognitive Bias

Strangers to Ourselves: Discovering the Adaptive Unconscious

Dan Gilbert,John Bargh

Decision Science

Contagious: Why Things Catch On

Dan Gilbert,Dan Ariely,Chip Heath

Social Psych,Habit Formation

Dan Ariely,Antonio Damasio,Tim Houlihan

Decision Science,Design,Product

Sidetracked: Why Our Decisions Get Derailed, and How We Can Stick to the Plan

Chip Heath,Dan Ariely,Tim Houlihan

Management,Social Psych,Decision Science,Behavioral Economics,Environmental Restructuring,Nudges & Choice Architecture

Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending

Elizabeth Dunn,Mike Norton

Chip Heath,Barry Schwartz,Dan Ariely,Dan Gilbert

Behavioral Economics,Positive Psych,Nudges & Choice Architecture

Good Habits, Bad Habits: The Science of Making Positive Changes That Stick

Cass Sunstein,Dan Ariely,Adam Grant,Angela Duckworth,Robert Cialdini,Jonah Berger

Habit Formation,Environmental Restructuring,Design,Reduce Friction,Product,Health

Pre-Suasion: Channeling Attention for Change

Robert Cialdini

Marketing,Behavior Change,Growth,Attention

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Made Simple: 10 Strategies for Managing Anxiety, Depression, Anger, Panic, and Worry

Spent: Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behavior

Geoffrey Miller

Marketing,Social Psych,Decision Science

Inﬂuence: The Psychology of Persuasion

Robert Cialdini

Social Psych,Marketing

Switch: How To Change When Change Is Hard

Chip Heath,Dan Heath

Social Psych,Habit Formation,Behavior Change

Designing for Behavior Change: Applying Psychology and Behavioral Economics

Behavior Change,Behavioral Economics,Design,Reduce Friction,Environmental Restructuring,Nudges & Choice Architecture

Seductive Interaction Design: Creating Playful, Fun, and Effective UX

Stephen Anderson

Design,Product,Environmental Restructuring,Reduce Friction,Research

Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability

Design,Product,Reduce Friction

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

Chip Heath,Dan Heath

Design,Product,Habit Formation,Social Psych

The Behaviour Change Wheel: A Guide to Designing Interventions

Susan Michie,Lou Atkins,Robert West

Design,Behavior Change,Environmental Restructuring,Reduce Friction

The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less

Decision Science

Self-Efﬁcacy: The Exercise of Control

Behavior Change

The Influential Mind: What the Brain Reveals About Our Power to Change Others

Behavioral Economics,Social Psych,Nudges & Choice Architecture

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Design,Positive Psych,Mental Health

Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A’s, and Other Bribes

Design,Product,Behavior Change,Behavioral Economics,Rewards & Incentives,Work Behaviors,Reinforcement,Nudges & Choice Architecture

Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much

Sendhil Mullainathan,Eldar Shaﬁr

Decision Science,Behavior Change,Behavioral Economics,Nudges & Choice Architecture

Choice Factory: 25 Behavioural Biases That Inﬂuence What We Buy

Richard Shotton

Animal Spirits: How Human Psychology Drives the Economy

George Akerlof,Robert Shiller

Behavioral Economics,Finance

Why We Do What We Do: Understanding Self-Motivation

Social Psych,Decision Science,Willpower,Self-Determination Theory

Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics

Behavioral Economics,Nudges & Choice Architecture

Inside the Nudge Unit: How Small Changes Can Make a Big Difference

Behavioral Economics,Behavior Change,Nudges & Choice Architecture,Environment

Priceless: The Myth of Fair Value (and How to Take Advantage of It)

William Poundstone

Simple Heuristics That Make Us Smart

Gerd Gigerenzer,Peter Todd

Behavioral Economics,Decision Science,Heuristics

Persuasive Technology: Using Computers to Change What We Think and Do

Product,Behavior Change

The Art of Thinking Clearly

Decision Science

The Nurture Effect: How the Science of Human Behavior Can Improve Our Lives and Our World

Learning,Behavior Change,Environmental Restructuring,Social Psych

Redirect: The Surprising New Science of Psychological Change

Behavior Change

Addiction by Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas

Natasha Dow Schüll

Habit Formation,Design,Product,Behavioral Economics,Nudges & Choice Architecture

Game Thinking: Innovate Smarter & Drive Deep Engagement with Design Techniques from Hit Games

Gamification,Design

Rocket Surgery Made Easy

Design,Reduce Friction

Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things

Design,Product,Reduce Friction,Environmental Restructuring

The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses

Design,Gamification,Habit Formation

Breakdown of Will

Think Twice: Harnessing the Power of Counterintuition

Michael Mauboussin

Decision Science

Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes

Gary Belsky,Tom Gilovich

Behavioral Economics,Decision Science,Nudges & Choice Architecture

Behavioral Game Theory: Experiments in Strategic Interaction

Behavioral Economics,Environmental Restructuring,Commitment Device,Behavior Change,Decision Science,Management,Rewards & Incentives,Nudges & Choice Architecture

Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behaviour

Ori Brafman,Rom Brafman

Behavioral Economics,Environmental Restructuring,Commitment Device,Behavior Change,Decision Science,Management,Rewards & Incentives,Nudges & Choice Architecture

Identity Economics: How Our Identities Shape Our Work, Wages, and Well-Being

George Akerlof,Rachel Kranton

Social Psych,Work Behaviors,Management,Positive Psych

Ulysses and the Sirens: Studies in Rationality and Irrationality

Behavioral Economics,Environmental Restructuring,Commitment Device,Behavior Change,Decision Science,Management,Rewards & Incentives,Nudges & Choice Architecture

Behavioral Economics and its Applications

Behavioral Economics,Nudges & Choice Architecture

Irrational Exuberence

Robert Schiller

Behavioral Economics,Nudges & Choice Architecture

Thinking and Deciding

Behavioral Economics,Environmental Restructuring,Commitment Device,Behavior Change,Decision Science,Management,Rewards & Incentives,Nudges & Choice Architecture

Choices, Values, and Frames

Daniel Kahneman

Behavioral Economics,Nudges & Choice Architecture,Heuristics,Framing Effects

Judgement Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases

Daniel Kahneman

Decision Science

Behavioural Finance: Insights into Irrational Minds and Markets

Behavioral Economics,Finance,Heuristics,Cognitive Bias

Sources of Power: How People Make Decisions

Decision Science,Management

Discover Your Inner Economist: Use Incentives to Fall in Love, Survive Your Next Meeting, and Motivate Your Dentist

Behavioral Economics,Rewards & Incentives,Nudges & Choice Architecture

Payoff: The Hidden Logic That Shapes Our Motivations

Behavioral Economics,Behavior Change,Management,Decision Science,Rewards & Incentives,Social Psych,Work Behaviors,Nudges & Choice Architecture

ACT Made Simple: An Easy-To-Read Primer on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Behavior Change,Mental Health,Substance Use or Addiction,Alcohol Use or Addiction