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What Makes Your Brain Happy and Why You Should Do the Opposite
- Narrated by: David DiSalvo
- Length: 5 hrs and 14 mins
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Publisher's summary
Why do we routinely choose options that don't meet our short-term needs and undermine our long-term goals? Why do we willingly expose ourselves to temptations that undercut our hard-fought progress to overcome addictions? Why are we prone to assigning meaning to statistically common coincidences? Why do we insist we're right even when evidence contradicts us?
In What Makes Your Brain Happy and Why You Should Do the Opposite, science writer David DiSalvo reveals a remarkable paradox: what your brain wants is frequently not what your brain needs. In fact, much of what makes our brains "happy" leads to errors, biases, and distortions, which make getting out of our own way extremely difficult. DiSalvo's search includes forays into evolutionary and social psychology, cognitive science, neurology, and even marketing and economics - as well as interviews with many of the top thinkers in psychology and neuroscience today.
From this research-based platform, DiSalvo draws out insights that we can use to identify our brains' foibles and turn our awareness into edifying action. Ultimately, DiSalvo argues, the research does not serve up ready-made answers, but provides us with actionable clues for overcoming the plight of our advanced brains and, consequently, living more fulfilled lives.
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In Mastering the Art of Quitting, the authors show us how to let go when we need to and how to start over. A guide to increasing our emotional and mental flexibility, assessing our goals, and knowing when to hang in or bail out, it tackles our tendencies to overanalyze, ruminate, and put a positive spin on situations we actually need to avoid. In a culture which perceives quitting as a last resort, Alan Bernstein and Peg Streep show that it’s an essential tool for a happy and successful life. They reveal simple truths which apply to goals in all areas of life including love, relationships, and work.
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Good book but not in audio format.
- By Viktar on 11-25-15
By: Peg Streep, and others
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Blindspot
- By: Mahzarin R. Banaji, Anthony G. Greenwald
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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I know my own mind. I am able to assess others in a fair and accurate way. These self-perceptions are challenged by leading psychologists Mahzarin R. Banaji and Anthony G. Greenwald as they explore the hidden biases we all carry from a lifetime of exposure to cultural attitudes about age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, social class, sexuality, disability status, and nationality. Blindspot is the authors’ metaphor for the portion of the mind that houses hidden biases.
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Difficult to interpret.
- By Ryan Arnold on 12-21-15
By: Mahzarin R. Banaji, and others
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Making Habits, Breaking Habits
- Why We Do Things, Why We Don't, and How to Make Any Change Stick
- By: Jeremy Dean
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 6 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Say you want to start going to the gym or practicing a musical instrument. How long should it take before you stop having to force it and start doing it automatically? The surprising answers are found in Making Habits, Breaking Habits, a leading psychologist’s popular examination of one of the most powerful and underappreciated processes in the brain. Although people like to think that they are in control, the vast majority of human behavior occurs without any decision-making or conscious thought.
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Get the actual book
- By Trish Vidal on 05-22-14
By: Jeremy Dean
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The Upside of Irrationality
- The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home
- By: Dan Ariely
- Narrated by: Simon Jones
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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In his groundbreaking book Predictably Irrational, social scientist Dan Ariely revealed the multiple biases that lead us into making unwise decisions. Now, in The Upside of Irrationality, he exposes the surprising negative and positive effects irrationality can have on our lives. Focusing on our behaviors at work and in relationships, he offers new insights and eye-opening truths about what really motivates us on the job.
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Not as good as the first
- By Stephen on 06-20-10
By: Dan Ariely
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The Marshmallow Test
- Mastering Self-Control
- By: Walter Mischel
- Narrated by: Alan Alda
- Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Marshmallow Test, Mischel explains how self-control can be mastered and applied to challenges in everyday life - from weight control to quitting smoking, overcoming heartbreak, making major decisions, and planning for retirement. With profound implications for the choices we make in parenting, education, public policy and self-care, The Marshmallow Test will change the way you think about who we are and what we can be.
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Great performance, but lacking in content
- By Hilary - San Francisco on 09-27-14
By: Walter Mischel
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The Molecule of More
- How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity - And Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race
- By: Daniel Z. Lieberman MD, Michael E. Long
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity—and will Determine the Fate of the Human Race, George Washington University professor and psychiatrist Daniel Z. Lieberman, MD, and Georgetown University lecturer Michael E. Long present a potentially life-changing proposal: Much of human life has an unconsidered component that explains an array of behaviors previously thought to be unrelated, including why winners cheat, why geniuses often suffer with mental illness, why nearly all diets fail, and more.
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Did you know conservatives have more orgasms?
- By Josh on 10-21-20
By: Daniel Z. Lieberman MD, and others
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The Man Who Lied to his Laptop
- What Machines Teach Us About Human Relationships
- By: Clifford Nass, Corina Yen
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Clifford Nass has developed a powerful theory: Our brains can’t fundamentally distinguish between interacting with people and interacting with devices. Nass’s discoveries push the boundaries of both psychology and technology and provide nothing less than a new blueprint for successful human relationships.
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Human/Technology Interface
- By Roy on 10-19-10
By: Clifford Nass, and others
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Sway
- The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior
- By: Rom Brafman, Ori Brafman
- Narrated by: John Apicella
- Length: 4 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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A Harvard Business School student pays over $200 for a $20 bill. Washington, D.C., commuters ignore a free subway concert by a violin prodigy. A veteran airline pilot attempts to take off without control-tower clearance and collides with another plane on the runway. Why do we do the wildly irrational things we sometimes do?
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Disappointing book
- By Martin Proulx on 12-10-08
By: Rom Brafman, and others
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Bozo Sapiens
- Why to Err Is Human
- By: Michael Kaplan, Ellen Kaplan
- Narrated by: Victor Bevine
- Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Our species, it appears, is hardwired to get things wrong in myriad different ways. Why did recipients of a loan offer accept a higher rate of interest when a pretty woman's face was printed on the flyer? Why did one poll on immigration find the most despised aliens were ones from a group that did not exist? What made four of the Air Force's best pilots fly their planes, in formation, straight into the ground?
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A tour de force
- By Ivan on 07-05-11
By: Michael Kaplan, and others
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The 7 Laws of Magical Thinking
- How Irrational Beliefs Keep Us Happy, Healthy, and Sane
- By: Matthew Hutson
- Narrated by: Matthew Hutson, Don Hagen
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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In this witty and perceptive debut, a former editor at Psychology Today shows us how magical thinking makes life worth living. Psychologists have documented a litany of cognitive biases and explained their positive functions. Now, Matthew Hutson shows us that even the most hardcore skeptic indulges in magical thinking all the time - and it's crucial to our survival. Drawing on evolution, cognitive science, and neuroscience, Hutson shows us that magical thinking has been so useful to us that it's hardwired into our brains.
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Highly enjoyable
- By David R Pinsof on 05-01-12
By: Matthew Hutson
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Your Brain at Work
- Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long
- By: David Rock
- Narrated by: Bob Walter
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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In this book, we travel inside Emily's and Paul's brains as they attempt to sort the vast quantities of information they're presented with, figure out how to prioritize it, organize it, and act on it. Fortunately for Emily and Paul, they're in good hands: David Rock knows how the brain works - and more specifically, how it works in a work setting. Rock shows how it's possible for Emily and Paul, and thus the listener, not only to survive in today's overwhelming work environment but succeed in it - and still feel energized and accomplished at the end of the day.
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Interesting Insights into the Brain
- By Tom Johnson on 11-28-12
By: David Rock
What listeners say about What Makes Your Brain Happy and Why You Should Do the Opposite
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Joseph
- 03-16-21
Kind of strays far far the books title.
feels like it never really stayed on point. mostly a collectiom of pop psychology studies.
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- Andrew Siegel
- 08-17-16
Great content but non-professional narration
The subject matter is critical for anyone wishing a better understanding of the mistakes that our brain's wiring causes. But by choosing to narrate his own book the author in my view made it more difficult to follow than similar audiobooks that featured professionally trained narrators.
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- Sean
- 08-02-12
Cursory but not instructive
The book provides a decent tour of current psychology and behavior science but does not offer any substantive tips about how to use the information.
As a science author (as opposed to a scientist) he does a good job of explaining subtle concepts. The other side of this coin is that most of the information is presented in layman's terms. So if you are looking for a more scientific exploration of these issues you should look at other titles.
Like most books in this category, the author spends a great deal of time describing how we are led astray by cognitive biases without offering any insight about how to avoid them. I would like to see a book that tried to tackle that problem more seriously.
Unfortunately, the author chose to read his own book, which is almost always a mistake. The delivery is rather flat--not monotone, but it doesn't really hold your attention.
Overall, the content is accurate and informative and the performance is adequate. If you are looking for an introduction to cognitive bias then the book will be interesting. If you want a more in depth scientific approach I would recommend "Thinking Fast and Slow."
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15 people found this helpful
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- Nicole Van Ness
- 03-17-13
slow down
What did you love best about What Makes Your Brain Happy and Why You Should Do the Opposite?
The content of the book is relevant, interesting, and captivating. I had to listen twice, though, because he reads it a bit too fast. Awesome book and so useful, reminding me of topics I haven't studied for awhile, and adding new info and support in a way that is accessible to those versed or new to psychology concepts. It would be a lot better if the reader slowed down so I didn't have to listen twice :-)
What was one of the most memorable moments of What Makes Your Brain Happy and Why You Should Do the Opposite?
Reviewing the concepts
What do you think the narrator could have done better?
Read slower
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2 people found this helpful
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- Chris
- 05-17-13
Good content, untrained narration
What did you like best about What Makes Your Brain Happy and Why You Should Do the Opposite? What did you like least?
This book is good on all fronts, except for when it comes to narration (which is about half the battle when it comes to audiobooks). I recommend the non-audio version of this book. The author narrates it himself. The recording quality and clarity is acceptable, but the inflection and delivery is so off it's painful to listen to after five minutes.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Kindle Customer
- 09-07-18
great but difficult
it a new and great subject about that great organ, the brain. but language was difficult...
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- AmazonCustomer
- 12-24-22
Good info, bad delivery
The author was rushed and dry in his performance. The information was great but it could have been delivered better.
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- Suchindra K C
- 08-05-16
Very technical and bad storytelling
This books has brilliant concepts explained in a very boring manner. Parts of the audio is cut and the delivery of narration is very boring. The Book's content structure is technical and lacks good storytelling techniques.
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- leia
- 08-12-20
Exhausting
Agro male voice feels like an attack; this guy should stick to writing and leave the reading to someone who doesn’t get so out of breath. It’s exhausting just to listen to.
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- Chris
- 11-11-23
Disappointing
I thought I would finaly get the answer to the question Why do we do things knowing they aren’t good for us? I see the meaning of the happy brain but the book doesn’t give much more explanation.
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