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Best Psychology Books

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There’s nothing quite like delving into the best psychology books to gain a deeper understanding of yourself and others around you. As 450 million people suffer from mental disorders, if not more, due to a stigma of seeking help, this is by far one of the essential subjects to consider.

Although self-diagnosis isn’t recommended, the best books on psychology can help you to better understand the afflictions you encounter daily. Even for students who are searching for curriculum materials or books that can help you to understand a topic in your classes better, these titles will prove to be invaluable.

You can guarantee there won’t be a shortage of materials, as you can browse through titles written by authors who have dealt with anxiety, depression, substance abuse, bipolar disorder, and more. Having a deeper understanding of the human psyche and how it can be affected over the years is an asset that plenty of people do not have.

The best books on psychology are incredibly notable, as trained professionals in the field wrote them. Not only will you have statistically valid information at your fingertips, but you will also be able to gain experience from individuals who have been face to face with patients suffering from an assortment of disorders.

Being able to understand how to assess, diagnose, and treat these disorders can provide you with the stepping stones you need to establish yourself as a trained psychologist or psychiatrist.

If you’re not searching for classroom texts, psychology books can also assist you in dealing with a loved one’s diagnosis. Plenty of the titles that we recommend are fantastic resources for families struggling through mental disorders, especially if you have a fundamental understanding of the ones you’re faced with.

Using these books can assist you with making a choice to get help, or helping a family member in getting help for themselves. With the help of the best psychology books on this list, you will have the opportunity to see yourself in a different, healthier way, which is better not only for you but for everyone around you, as well.

Best Psychology Books, Best Books on Psychology

The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed

I read The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed by Jessica Lahey because I have a son, but it’s worth reading for anyone, parent or not. Written by a middle school teacher and education expert, the book is an exploration of how one raises self-sufficient children who are responsible for themselves.

Ryan Holiday

Founder/Brass Check

David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants

Buy Malcolm Gladwell’s book “David and Goliath” and read the interesting stories about how the Davids of that moments have defeated the Goliaths.

Robert Katai

Founder/Instagramology

The Celestine Prophecy: An Adventure

A few months ago, I was drinking a Noah’s Mill whiskey (cute) with my good buddy Brian Balfour and talking about life... During the conversation, we got on the topic of books that changed our lives. I want to share them with you. I judge a book's success if a year later I'm still using at least 1 thing from the book.

Noah Kagan

Founder/Sumo

Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything

Of the five books I finished over vacation, the one that impressed me the most – and that is probably of broadest interest – is Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything, by science writer Joshua Foer. This is an absolutely phenomenal book that looks at memory and techniques for dramatically improving memory. Foer actually mastered these techniques, which led him to the finals of the U.S. Memory Championship. His book gives fascinating insights into how the mind works.

Bill Gates

CEO/Microsoft

Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships

This book is the key to understand the way societies reacts and why.

Corneliu Bodea

CEO / Adrem

Barking Up the Wrong Tree: The Surprising Science Behind Why Everything You Know About Success Is (Mostly) Wrong

Eric Barker puts out some great content on his blog and his book combines a lot of those insights into a single read. Growing up I was much more critical and hard on myself than I should’ve been, and this book gives great insight as to what Success actually is and how to get there.

Cody McLain

CEO/SupportNinja

Stealing Fire: How Silicon Valley, the Navy SEALs, and Maverick Scientists Are Revolutionizing the Way We Live and Work

Stealing Fire discusses the many alternate states of consciousness and how to leverage them to achieve creativity, vision, and FLOW. While this isn’t 100% a business book, it has had the biggest impact on me professionally by helping me find and stay in flow. The book’s greatest lesson, however, is in realizing why FLOW is so important - it leads to the best quality of work. Maximum output for minimal input.

Adam Johnston

CEO & Co-Founder/Last Call Trivia

The Passion Paradox: A Guide to Going All In, Finding Success, and Discovering the Benefits of an Unbalanced Life

Passion is a roller coaster ride that can send us on a sudden, precipitating plunge from the heights of happiness to the depths of despair. This thoughtful, immediately readable book shows how to manage passion so it brings out the best in us—rather than the worst in us.

Adam Grant

Author

The Will to Meaning: Foundations and Applications of Logotherapy

Frankl is one of the most profound modern thinkers on meaning and purpose. His contribution was to change the question from the vague philosophy of “What is the meaning of life?” to man being asked and forced to answer with his actions. He looks at how we find purpose by dedicating ourselves to a cause, learning to love and finding a meaning to our suffering. His other two books on the topic, Will To Meaning and Man’s Search for Ultimate Meaning have gems in them as well.

Ryan Holiday

Founder/Brass Check

Why They Do It: Inside the Mind of the White-Collar Criminal

This summer, Mackenna is learning more about the birth of behavioral economics, the psychology of white collar crime, and the restoration of American cities as locations of economic growth.

Francisco Perez Mackenna

CEO/Quineñco

The Gift of Fear : Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence

The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker shares a bunch of anecdotes from violent attacks, how the victims often knew per instinct that something wasn’t right, but suppressed that instinct for fear of seeming rude or silly or whatever. He also presents a bunch of analytical frameworks for evaluating threats, stalkers, and other menaces.

But it’s not a dry textbook. Gavin had a violent upbringing and brings a lot of personal anecdotes and perspectives to bear as well.

David Heinemeier Hansson

Co-Founder/Basecamp

Emotional Success: The Power of Gratitude, Compassion, and Pride

I'm listening to Emotional Success by David DeSteno. I'm hoping to use some of the ideas to help customers of my weight loss app stick to their targets and lose more weight.

Lewis Smith

Entrepreneur & Developer/BodyTracker

The Fear Factor

Let Abigail Marsh guide you on a riveting ride through your own brain. With lively writing and an impressive command of science, she shows how sensitivity to fear can be both a weapon of evil and a force for good.

Adam Grant

Author/Originals

The Physics Of Consciousness: The Quantum Mind And The Meaning Of Life

I have no favorite book, but I can tell you a particular genre that continues to capture my literary interests: metacognition. Books like The Tao of Physics, Everyday Zen, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Buddhist Biology, Zen and the Brain, and The Physics of Consciousness all run the gamut of challenging and considering to think of how we think.

Ari Iaccarino

Co-Founder/Ridj-it

The Cyber Effect: A Pioneering Cyberpsychologist Explains How Human Behavior Changes Online

My favorite book is usually a recent one that helped me with a particular task or question. In the last year, I’ve been working (and studying) more about online influencers. In this context, two books come to mind: one that really inspired me on how to work better with people -- the classic How to win friends and influence people by Dale Carnegie; the other helped me understand the dynamics of online interactions -- The Cyber Effect: A Pioneering Cyberpsychologist Explains How Human Behavior Changes Online by Mary Aiken.

Irina Nica

Senior Marketing Manager/HubSpot

Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business

Last year I read the book 'Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business' by Charles Duhigg. Look passed the click-baity title and you'll find one of the best books on productivity I've ever read... And I've read a lot of them.

Mike Benkovich

Founder/Anatomonics

Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World

I thought I might put my money where my mouth is. I keep whining that young people are not in touch with some essential books on advertising that have helped me shape the way I practise my trade today, but I never did anything about it. So I am starting here the ultimate books to read list. I will add to it as I get suggestions and as more good books get written.

Bogdana Butnar

Head of Strategy/Poke

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking

On a more functional level, I am reading Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, by Susan Cain, mostly because I'm finding that as I get older my inner introvert is becoming more prevalent. I've been quite good at faking extroversion but I now need how to best leverage my true nature. 🙂

Bogdana Butnar

Head of Strategy/Poke

Who Can You Trust?: How Technology Brought Us Together and Why It Might Drive Us Apart

I tend to jump from book to book and may switch if I am interested in some new topic. This is a pleasure for me (which I also do benefit work wise from too). It’s quite a random list because I have eclectic interests (or just scatterbrained most likely) on tech business, AI, general global economy, geopolitics, rising Biotech economy & history. I'm basically 15% to 50% into all these books.

Marvin Liao

Partner/500 Startups