Behavioral Scientist’s Notable Books of 2021
1. 
You Have More Influence Than You Think: How We Underestimate Our Power of Persuasion, and Why It Matters
by:
Vanessa Bohns
3.86 avg rating — 491 ratings 2. 
Breaking the Social Media Prism: How to Make Our Platforms Less Polarizing
by:
Chris Bail
3.96 avg rating — 422 ratings 3. 
Career and Family: Women’s Century-Long Journey toward Equity
by:
Claudia Goldin
4.21 avg rating — 1,006 ratings 4. 
Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness It
by:
Ethan Kross
3.96 avg rating — 22,430 ratings 4. 
Drug Use for Grown-Ups: Chasing Liberty in the Land of Fear
by:
Carl L. Hart
4.02 avg rating — 4,582 ratings 6. 
The Elements of Choice: Why the Way We Decide Matters
by:
Eric J. Johnson
3.91 avg rating — 482 ratings 
8. 
The New Climate War: The Fight to Take Back Our Planet
by:
Michael E. Mann
3.94 avg rating — 2,201 ratings 
10. 
Social Chemistry: Decoding the Elements of Human Connection
by:
Marissa King
3.72 avg rating — 891 ratings 11. 
The Social Instinct: How Cooperation Shaped the World
by:
Nichola Raihani
3.93 avg rating — 618 ratings 
13. 
The Sweet Spot: The Pleasures of Suffering and the Search for Meaning
by:
Paul Bloom
3.60 avg rating — 2,112 ratings 14. 
Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain
by:
Shankar Vedantam
3.84 avg rating — 1,634 ratings 15. 
16. 
When Brains Dream: Exploring the Science and Mystery of Sleep
by:
Antonio Zadra
3.87 avg rating — 940 ratings 17. 
A World Without Email: Reimagining Work in an Age of Communication Overload
by:
Cal Newport
3.88 avg rating — 6,187 ratings 18. 
The Behavioral Code: The Hidden Ways the Law Makes Us Better . . . or Worse 3.99 avg rating — 159 ratings
20. 
The Family Firm: A Data-Driven Guide to Better Decision Making in the Early School Years (The ParentData Series)
by:
Emily Oster
3.74 avg rating — 5,272 ratings 21. 
Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals
by:
Oliver Burkeman
4.19 avg rating — 115,013 ratings 
23. 
High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out
by:
Amanda Ripley
4.27 avg rating — 4,488 ratings 24. 
How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be
by:
Katy Milkman
3.85 avg rating — 6,951 ratings 25. 
How to Not Die Alone: The Surprising Science That Will Help You Find Love
by:
Logan Ury
3.98 avg rating — 18,047 ratings 26. 
27. 
28. 
Minds Wide Shut: How the New Fundamentalisms Divide Us
by:
Gary Saul Morson
3.96 avg rating — 70 ratings 29. 
The New Breed: What Our History with Animals Reveals about Our Future with Robots
by:
Kate Darling
3.97 avg rating — 401 ratings 
32. 
Of Sound Mind: How Our Brain Constructs a Meaningful Sonic World
by:
Nina Kraus
4.02 avg rating — 203 ratings 33. 
The Power of Us: Harnessing Our Shared Identities to Improve Performance, Increase Cooperation, and Promote Social Harmony
by:
Jay J. Van Bavel
4.01 avg rating — 366 ratings 34. 
Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know
by:
Adam M. Grant
4.13 avg rating — 136,047 ratings 
36. 
The Week: A History of the Unnatural Rhythms That Made Us Who We Are
by:
David M. Henkin
3.15 avg rating — 192 ratings