On a beautiful October morning in rural Maine, a homicide investigator from the state police pulls into the hard-luck town of Copper Falls. The local junkyard is burning, and the town pariah Lizzie Oullette is dead--with her husband, Dwayne, nowhere to be found. As scandal ripples through the community, Detective Ian Bird's inquiries unexpectedly lead him away from small-town Maine to a swank city townhouse several hours south. Adrienne Richards,...

Explores the subtle, secret influences that affect the decisions we make--from what we buy, to the careers we choose, to what we eat. You think that your choices and behaviors are driven by your individual, personal tastes, and opinions. Our own personal thoughts and opinions is patently obvious. Right? Wrong. Other people's behavior has a huge influence on everything we do, from the mundane to the momentous. Berger integrates research and thinking...

"From New York Times bestselling author and economics columnist Robert Frank, a revelatory look at the power and potential of social context. As psychologists have long understood, social environments profoundly shape our behavior, sometimes for the better, but often for the worse. Less widely noted is that social influence is a two-way street: Our environments are in large part themselves a product of the choices we make. Society embraces regulations...

"Popular examines why popularity plays such a key role in our development and, ultimately, how it still influences our happiness and success today. In many ways -- some even beyond our conscious awareness -- those old dynamics of our youth continue to play out in every business meeting, every social gathering, in our personal relationships, and even how we raise our children. Our popularity even affects our DNA, our health, and our mortality in fascinating...

"Moral psychologist Tess Wilkinson-Ryan examines what she calls the 'sucker construct,' the fear of being taken advantage of--of being a sucker--and its outsized role in the shaping of our lives and our world"--

No one doubts the power of the majority. It makes the rules and enforces them, and most of us are willing to go along with it, most of the time. But what happens when you're not? What about when the issue is so important to you that you're willing to take on the naysayers? It doesn't matter if you're trying to sell a new product or service, persuade colleagues to try out a new business plan, start a revolution, or simply convince your family where...

We've decided by consensus that consensus is good. In In Defense of Troublemakers, psychologist Charlan Nemeth argues that this principle is completely wrong: left unchallenged, the majority opinion is often biased, unoriginal, or false. It leads planes and markets to crash, causes juries to convict innocent people, and can quite literally make people think blue is green. In the name of comity, we embrace stupidity. We can make better decisions by...

The author of Why We Buy reports on the growing importance of women in everybody's marketplace--what makes a package, product, space, or service "female friendly." He offers a tour of the world's marketplace--with shrewd observations and practical applications to help everybody adapt to the new realities. Underhill examines how a woman's role as homemaker has evolved into homeowner; how the home gym and home office are linked to the women's health...

"Have you dreamed of making money by playing video games? Getting paid to show off your gaming skills online sounds like an awesome career, but it takes more than just game skills. Learn about the basic business skills and economics behind this career in influencer marketing, all while staying safe online"--

The science writer investigates the latest breakthroughs in social psychology to reveal how to guard against groupthink, build better teamwork, identify shared objectives, become more ethical, and survive moments of isolation.