Episode · EconTalk · 2023-02-27
Books mentioned on Paul Bloom on Psych, Psychology, and the Human Mind
Do psychologists know anything? Psychologist Paul Bloom says yes--but not the things that you might think.
Paul Bloom recommended The Language Instinct by Steven Pinker, The Principles of Psychology by William James, Civilization and Its Discontents by Sigmund Freud, and Alchemy by Rory Sutherland, discussed Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, and criticized The Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Blink
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell is a popular psychology book that examines the power of the adaptive unconscious and how people make snap judgments based on thin slicing.
Discussed“I know you know Malcolm Gladwell famously wrote a book blinks making a similar claim that that the gut the intuition is is fast”
Where to get it
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The Language Instinct
Steven Pinker's The Language Instinct is a prominent popular science book that explores the innate nature of human language acquisition and processing.
Recommended“Steve Pinker wrote a wonderful book called language Instinct where he talks about that process you were talking about before baby is instinctual”
Where to get it
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The Principles of Psychology
The Principles of Psychology by William James is an 1890 foundational classic in the field of psychology that explores human consciousness, habit, and emotion.
Recommended“I think one of the great books of psychology is that the principles principles of Psychology by William James in 1890”
Where to get it
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Civilization and Its Discontents
Sigmund Freud's Civilization and Its Discontents is a foundational psychoanalytic text exploring the inevitable friction between individual desires for freedom and the restrictive demands of civilized society.
Recommended“my favorite book for Freud is civilization and that's discontents”
Where to get it
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The Interpretation of Dreams
The Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud is a foundational psychoanalytic text that introduces the concept of dream analysis as a window into the unconscious mind and repressed desires.
Critiqued“but I wouldn't recommend anybody waiting into the interpretation of Dreams it's just it's a very big book”
Where to get it
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Alchemy
Alchemy by Rory Sutherland is an insightful exploration of behavioral economics, psychology, and the hidden irrational forces that drive consumer behavior in business and everyday life.
Recommended“and it's fantastic book by Rory Sutherland who's an an admin I guess in the UK called Alchemy”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (3) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“it was last year in October of 2021 talking about his book The Sweet Spot”
“our topic for today is his latest book psych psych”
“um because the book I was written by McCloskey called if you're so smart”