100 Books to Become a Behavioral Designer — Part 4
Your Ultimate Reading Guide to Designing Behavior
Welcome to the final part of my series covering the 100 best books to help you learn about Behavioral Design.
The books included here are a mix of those who have helped me create a successful behavioral design career combined with books personally nominated by the likes of Richard Thaler, Dan Ariely, Tali Sharot, Nir Eyal, Robert Cialdini, and Angela Duckworth, to name a few.
Did you miss the first three parts? Here are the links below:
If you prefer a list of all 100 books in a PDF, then you can download it here 📚 via joining the Habit Weekly newsletter.
Level 4. Achieving behavioral design mastery
This final level is your chance to further round-out and strengthening your skill-set. This part is divided into sections based on genre and here you will get an opportunity to dive deeper; into the psychology behind our decision making, or perhaps in the world of behavioral economics. There are also great opportunities to explore new territory that books in previous levels have barely covered, such as the fields of evolutionary psychology, service design, and gamification.
While understanding human behavior is a life-long journey, you can find solace in that some of the road has already been paved. We are fortunate to stand on the shoulders of the giants who have come before us. They have written these books and, in turn, made this guide possible. This is indeed a great opportunity, so make the most of it. I encourage you to follow your curiosity and through these books continue the process of understanding what makes your heart sing. Happy Reading!
Cognitive Psychology: The Human Mind & Decision Making
EDITOR’S PICK — The Art of Choosing by Sheena Iyengar
THE BOOK IN SHORT
Every day we make choices. Coke or Pepsi? Save or spend? Stay or go? Whether mundane or life-altering, these choices define us and shape our lives. Sheena Iyengar asks the difficult questions about how and why we choose: Is the desire for choice innate or bound by culture? Why do we sometimes choose against our best interests? How much control do we really have over what we choose? Sheena Iyengar’s award-winning research reveals that the answers are surprising and profound.
Other books in this category:
- Decoded: The Science Behind Why We Buy by Phil Barden
- How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer
- Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending by Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton
- How Emotions are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain by Lisa Feldman Barrett
- How the Mind Works by Steven Pinker
- How We Know What Isn’t So by Thomas Gilovich
- Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain by David Eagleman
- Invisible influence by Jonah Berger
- Strangers to Ourselves: Discovering the Adaptive Unconscious by Timothy D. Wilson
- Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior by Leonard Mlodinow
- The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge
- The Emotional Life of Your Brain by Richard Davidson and Sharon Begley
- The Invisible Gorilla by Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons
- The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less by Brian Schwartz
- The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt
- The Unpersuadables: Adventures with the Enemies of Science by Will Storr
Social Psychology
EDITOR’S PICK — Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect by Matthew D. Lieberman
THE BOOK IN SHORT
We are profoundly social creatures — more than we know. In Social, renowned psychologist Matthew Lieberman explores groundbreaking research in social neuroscience revealing that our need to connect with other people is even more fundamental, more basic, than our need for food or shelter. Because of this, our brain uses its spare time to learn about the social world — other people and our relation to them.
Social argues that our need to reach out to and connect with others is a primary driver behind our behavior. Based on the latest cutting edge research, the book’s findings have important real-world implications. Our schools and businesses, for example, attempt to minimalize social distractions. But this is exactly the wrong thing to do to encourage engagement and learning, and literally shuts down the social brain, leaving powerful neuro-cognitive resources untapped. The insights revealed in this pioneering book suggest ways to improve learning in schools, make the workplace more productive, and improve our overall well-being.
Other books in this category:
- Explaining Social Behavior: More Nuts and Bolts for the Social Sciences by Jon Elster
- Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control by Albert Bandura
- Situations Matter: Understanding How Context Transforms Your World by Sam Sommers
- The Influential Mind by Tali Sharot
- The Knowledge Illusion by Philip Fernbach and Steven Sloman
- The Person & The Situation by Lee Ross
- The Social Animal by David Brooks
- The Social Animal by Elliot Aronson
Motivational Theories
EDITOR’S PICK — Why We Do What We Do: Understanding Self-Motivation by Edward L. Deci
THE BOOK IN SHORT
What motivates us as students, employees, and individuals? If you reward your children for doing their homework, they will usually respond by getting it done. But is this the most effective method of motivation? No, says psychologist Edward L. Deci, who challenges traditional thinking and shows that this method actually works against performance. Why We Do What We Do: Understanding Self-Motivation argues that the best way to motivate people — at school, at work, or at home — is to support their sense of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. We are all inherently interested in the world, argues Deci, so why not nurture that interest in each other? Instead of asking, “How can I motivate people?” we should be asking, “How can I create the conditions within which people will motivate themselves?”
Other books in this category:
- Driven: How Human Nature Shapes Our Choices by Paul R. Lawrence
- Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
- Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A’s, and Other Bribes by Alfie Kohn
- Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much by Sendhil Mullainathan & Eldar Shafir
- The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life by Kevin Simler & Robin Hanson
- The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal
Behavioral Economics
EDITOR’S PICK — Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics by Richard Thaler
THE BOOK IN SHORT
Nobel laureate Richard H. Thaler has spent his career studying the radical notion that the central agents in the economy are humans — predictable, error-prone individuals. Misbehaving is his arresting, frequently hilarious account of the struggle to bring an academic discipline back down to earth — and change the way we think about economics, ourselves, and our world.
Coupling recent discoveries in human psychology with a practical understanding of incentives and market behavior, Thaler enlightens readers about how to make smarter decisions in an increasingly mystifying world. He reveals how behavioral economic analysis opens up new ways to look at everything from household finance to assigning faculty offices in a new building, to TV game shows, the NFL draft, and businesses like Uber. When economics meets psychology, the implications for individuals, managers, and policymakers are both profound and entertaining.
Other books in this category:
- Animal Spirits: How Human Psychology Drives the Economy by George A. Akerlof and Robert J. Shiller
- Exotic Preferences: Behavioral Economics and Human Motivation by George Loewenstein
- Choice Factory: 25 Behavioural Biases That Influence What We Buy by Richard Shotton
- Inside the Nudge Unit: How Small Changes Can Make a Big Difference by David Halpern
- Priceless: The Myth of Fair Value (and How to Take Advantage of It) by William Poundstone
- Simple Heuristics That Make Us Smart by Gerd Gigerenzer and Peter M. Todd
- The Art of Thinking Clearly by Rolf Dobelli
Behavior Change / Other
EDITOR’S PICK — The Nurture Effect: How the Science of Human Behavior Can Improve Our Lives and Our World by Anthony Biglan
THE BOOK IN SHORT
A fascinating look at the evolution of behavioral science, the revolutionary way it’s changing the way we live, and how nurturing environments can increase people’s well-being in virtually every aspect of our society, from early childhood education to corporate practices. If you want to know how you can help create a better world, read this book.
For decades, behavioral scientists have investigated the role our environment plays in shaping who we are, and their research shows that we now have the power within our own hands to reduce violence, improve cognitive development in our children, increase levels of education and income, and even prevent future criminal behaviors. By cultivating a positive environment in all aspects of society — from the home, to the classroom, and beyond — we can ensure that young people arrive at adulthood with the skills, interests, assets, and habits needed to live healthy, happy, and productive lives.
Other books in this category:
- Brainfluence: 100 Ways to Persuade and Convince Consumers with Neuromarketing by Roger Dooley
- Everybody Lies: What Big Data Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz
- Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth
- Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life by Nir Eyal
- Persuasive Technology: Using Computers to Change What We Think and Do by B.J. Fogg
- Redirect: The Surprising New Science of Psychological Change by Timothy D. Wilson
- The Small Big: Small Changes That Spark Big Influence by Steve Martin, Noah Goldstein & Robert Cialdini
- Well Designed Life: 10 Lessons in Brain Science & Design Thinking by Kyra Bobinet
Evolutionary Biology & Psychology
EDITOR’S PICK — Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind by David M. Buss
THE BOOK IN SHORT
Where did we come from? What is our connection with other life forms? What are the mechanisms of the mind that define what it means to be a human being? Evolutionary psychology is a revolutionary new science, a true synthesis of modern principles of psychology and evolutionary biology. Since the publication of the award-winning first edition of Evolutionary Psychology, there has been an explosion of research within the field. In this book, David M. Buss examines human behavior from an evolutionary perspective, providing students with the conceptual tools needed to study evolutionary psychology and apply them to empirical research on the human mind.
Other books in this category:
- The Blank Slate by Steven Pinker
- Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond
- The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature by Matt Ridley
- The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
- The Tangled Wing: Biological Constraints on the Human Spirit by Melvin Konner
Gamification
EDITOR’S PICK — The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses by Jesse Schell
THE BOOK IN SHORT
Anyone can master the fundamentals of game design — no technological expertise is necessary. The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses shows that the same basic principles of psychology that work for board games, card games and athletic games also are the keys to making top-quality video games. Good game design happens when you view your game from many different perspectives, or lenses. While touring through the unusual territory that is game design, this book gives the reader one hundred of these lenses — one hundred sets of insightful questions to ask yourself that will help make your game better. These lenses are gathered from fields as diverse as psychology, architecture, music, visual design, film, software engineering, theme park design, mathematics, writing, puzzle design, and anthropology. Anyone who reads this book will be inspired to become a better game designer — and will understand how to do it.
Other books in this category:
- A Theory of Fun for Game Design by Raph Koster
- Actionable Gamification: Beyond Points, Badges, and Leaderboards by Yu-kai Chou
- Addiction by Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas by Natasha Dow Schüll
- An Introduction to Gamification: What It Is and How to Effectively Use It by Dr. Zac Fitz-Walter
- Game Thinking: Innovate Smarter & Drive Deep Engagement with Design Techniques from Hit Games By Amy Jo Kim
- Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World by Jane McGonigal
UX Design & Service Design
EDITOR’S PICK | Design for How People Learn (Voices That Matter) by Julie Dirksen
THE BOOK IN SHORT
Products, technologies, and workplaces change so quickly today that everyone is continually learning. Many of us are also teaching, even when it’s not in our job descriptions. Whether it’s giving a presentation, writing documentation, or creating a website or blog, we need and want to share our knowledge with other people. But if you’ve ever fallen asleep over a boring textbook, or fast-forwarded through a tedious e-learning exercise, you know that creating a great learning experience is harder than it seems.
In Design For How People Learn, you’ll discover how to use the key principles behind learning, memory, and attention to create materials that enable your audience to both gain and retain the knowledge and skills you’re sharing. Using accessible visual metaphors and concrete methods and examples, Design For How People Learn will teach you how to leverage the fundamental concepts of instructional design both to improve your own learning and to engage your audience.
Other books in this category:
- Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things by Donald A. Norman
- Designing with the Mind in Mind By Jeff Johnson
- Mapping Experiences: A Complete Guide to Creating Value Through Journeys, Blueprints, and Diagrams by James Kalbach
- Rocket Surgery Made Easy by Steve Krug
- Service Design: From Insight to Implementation by Polaine, Løvlie, and Reason
- This Is Service Design Doing by Stickdorn, Hormess, Lawrence, and Schneider
Do you think a book is missing from the list or have other comments? Please send thoughts and recommendation to me here.
Please clap 👏👏 if you find this list helpful. Thanks!That’s it (!)
There you have it, 100 books to get you started towards becoming a behavioral designer. This means that all that’s left now is for you to take this moment to relax, find a place to comfortably lean back, and then start reading one of the great books introduced in this series. Enjoy :)
If you prefer a list of all 100 books in a PDF, then you can download it here 📚 via joining the Habit Weekly newsletter.
Samuel Salzer is a behavioral designer, author & keynote speaker helping value-driven organizations around the world to create habit-forming products and services using insights from behavioral economics and applied behavioral science.
For questions or queries, get in touch here.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Credit to everyone who helped make this, and future parts in this guide possible through your book recommendations and endorsements. It is humbling to have so many great people in our wide-spread community be so eager to help out and contribute.
Thank you to everyone listed below, I greatly appreciate your contributions.
Dan Ariely | Jonah Berger | Charlotte Blank | David Buss | Yu-kai Chou | Robert Cialdini | Wendy De La Rosa | Angela Duckworth | Nir Eyal | Zac Fitz-Walter | BJ Fogg | Evelyn Gosnell| Adam Grant | Dan Heath | Aline Holzwarth | Tim Houlihan | Rob Haisfield | Michael Hallsworth |Scott Barry Kaufman | Zarak Khan | Steve Martin | Riitta Mettomäki | Katherine Milkman |Kurt Nelson | Ingrid Melvær Paulin | Dan Pink | Steven Pinker | Robert Sapolsky | Tali Sharot | Koen Smets | Dilip Soman | Seth Stephens-Davidowitz | Richard Thaler | Matt Wallaert | Susan Weinchenck | Stephen Wendel
Names listed alphabetically. For simplicity, I avoided titles (you can assume everyone has a PhD.)
Credit to Goodreads — Most of “The book in short” sections are adapted synopsis from Goodreads.
No affiliate links have been used in this article.
