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15 Best Cognitive Psychology Books
We analyzed 3+ expert sources, curated book lists, and recommendations from successful people to find the 15 best cognitive psychology books according to the internet — not just one person's opinion. Each book on this list was mentioned by at least two independent sources, and the ranking is based on how frequently each title appears across all sources studied. This consensus-based approach ensures you get recommendations backed by multiple experts, not a single reviewer's bias.
Goal: Find the best Cognitive Psychology books according to the internet (not just one person's opinion).
Method:
- Search for "best cognitive psychology books" and study the top 3+ pages.
- Add only the books mentioned 2+ times.
- Rank the results neatly here.
15 Best Cognitive Psychology Books
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1
Thinking, Fast and Slow
by Daniel Kahneman
Also recommended by
19 people
Bill Gates recommended this bookBill Gates
List of books Bill Gates read in 2012.
Bill Gates's recommendation of this book 
Ray Dalio recommended this bookRay Dalio
Ray Dalio mentioned this book in his book, "Principles."
Ray Dalio's recommendation of this book 
Scott Adams recommended this bookScott Adams
One of the books on Scott Adams' "Persuasion Reading List."
Scott Adams's recommendation of this book 
Naval Ravikant recommended this bookNaval Ravikant
"Fine book but it didn’t need to be an entire book. A blog post would have gotten the point across." - Naval Ravikant
Naval Ravikant's recommendation of this book 
Ev Williams recommended this bookEv Williams
"I love surprising scientific findings, as well as information about how our brains work. [This book] is a treasure trove of both." - Ev Williams
Ev Williams's recommendation of this book 
Marc Andreessen recommended this bookMarc Andreessen
"Captivating dive into human decision making, marred by inclusion of several/many? psychology studies that fail to replicate. Will stand as a cautionary tale?" - Marc Andreessen
Marc Andreessen's recommendation of this book +13
More recommendations
- Stewart Brand
Stewart Brand recommended this book on his "Selected Books for the Manual for Civilization" blog post.
- Bryan Johnson
"I started reading [this book] and I became increasingly convinced of my own fickleness and inability to actually act rationally in life." - Bryan Johnson
- Derek Sivers
"If you liked 'Predictably Irrational' or 'Stumbling on Happiness' or any of those pop-psychology books, well, this is the Godfather of all of their work." - Derek Sivers
- Sam Altman
One of Sam Altman's answers to "What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?"
- Ron Conway
"Covers all three phases of [the author's] career: his early days working oncognitive bias, his work on prospect theory, and his later work on happiness." - Ron Conway
- Jason Fried
"I enjoyed [this book]. Fascinating." - Jason Fried
- Nassim Taleb
"A landmark book in social thought, in the same league as The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith and The Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud." - Nassim Taleb
- Sahil Lavingia
Sahil Lavingia recommended this book on Notion.
- Mark Manson
Mark Manson recommended this book on his website.
- Jay Shetty
"[One] of my favourite books." - Jay Shetty
- Michiko Kakutani
"Has become essential reading in many baseball front offices and among coaching staffs." - Michiko Kakutani
- Preston Pysh
"An incredible book!" - Preston Pysh
- Ben Greenfield
Most Recommended Books reached out to Ben Greenfield directly.
- Stewart Brand
2
Influence
The Psychology of Persuasion
by Robert Cialdini
Also recommended by
18 people
Tobi Lütke recommended this bookTobi Lütke
"The most mind-bending book you can imagine, because it essentially taught you always humans are flawed and influential." - Tobi Lütke
Tobi Lütke's recommendation of this book - Scott Adams recommended this book
Scott Adams
"100 percent of effective people seem to have read [this book]. In fact, it’s one of those things that when I meet somebody and they’re operating at a pretty high level, if you mention [this book], they’ve all read it." - Scott Adams
Scott Adams's recommendation of this book - Naval Ravikant recommended this book
Naval Ravikant
"Fundamental and had a lot to teach." - Naval Ravikant
Naval Ravikant's recommendation of this book 
Charlie Munger recommended this bookCharlie Munger
Charlie Munger recommended this book in the "Poor Charlie's Almanack" book.
Charlie Munger's recommendation of this book 
Adam Robinson recommended this bookAdam Robinson
Adam Robinson mentioned this book on "The Tim Ferriss Show" podcast.
Adam Robinson's recommendation of this book 
Ramit Sethi recommended this bookRamit Sethi
Ramit Sethi mentioned this book on "The Tim Ferriss Show" podcast.
Ramit Sethi's recommendation of this book +12
More recommendations
- Alexis Ohanian
"[Helps you] navigate the world with heightened awareness for how we're always being influenced/manipulated." - Alexis Ohanian
- Guy Kawasaki
"The guiding light for how I conduct business—and in many ways how I live my life." - Guy Kawasaki
- Max Levchin
One of Max Levchin's answers to "what's your favourite business book you'd advise to young entrepreneurs?"
- Noah Kagan
"People can be influenced in their behaviors by many different tactics." - Noah Kagan
- Samy Kamkar
"I love it because it was a very systematic and analytical approach to the most common ways that human being have been known to be influenced and persuaded to do something." - Samy Kamkar
- Andrew Wilkinson
"[One of] my most recommended business books." - Andrew Wilkinson
- Neil Strauss
"Understanding these [principles] make all the difference in making the leap from interest to attraction." - Neil Strauss
- Patrick O'Shaughnessy
Patrick O'Shaughnessy recommended this book on a blog post.
- Mark Manson
Mark Manson recommended this book on his website.
- Alex Hormozi
Alex Hormozi recommended this book on Instagram.
- James Clear
"[One of] the 10 best nonfiction books of all-time." - James Clear
- Michael Hyatt
Michael Hyatt recommended this book on his website.
- Alexis Ohanian
3
The Untethered Soul
The Journey Beyond Yourself
by Michael A. Singer
Also recommended by
8 people- Naval Ravikant recommended this book
Naval Ravikant
Naval Ravikant tweeted about this book.
Naval Ravikant's recommendation of this book 
Ryan Hoover recommended this bookRyan Hoover
"A useful read for those suffering with anxiety." - Ryan Hoover
Ryan Hoover's recommendation of this book 
Daniel Gross recommended this bookDaniel Gross
"Does a nice job of repackaging Eastern philosophy concepts in words that appeal to the hyperational Westerner mindset." - Daniel Gross
Daniel Gross's recommendation of this book 
Deepak Chopra recommended this bookDeepak Chopra
"Read this book carefully, and you will get more than a glimpse of eternity." - Deepak Chopra
Deepak Chopra's recommendation of this book 
Oprah Winfrey recommended this bookOprah Winfrey
"One of my new favorite books." - Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey's recommendation of this book 
Russell Brand recommended this bookRussell Brand
"It was impactful." - Russell Brand
Russell Brand's recommendation of this book +2
More recommendations
- Tony Robbins
"An incredible book." - Tony Robbins
- Danny Miranda
"An incredible read on spirituality. No amount of notes could do this one justice." - Danny Miranda
- Tony Robbins
4
Grit
The Power of Passion and Perseverance
by Angela Duckworth
Also recommended by
7 people
Josh Waitzkin recommended this bookJosh Waitzkin
Josh Waitzkin recommended this book in the "Tools of Titans" book.
Josh Waitzkin's recommendation of this book 
Tim Ferriss recommended this bookTim Ferriss
"Really about teaching your kids to focus on hard work and not intrinsic capability." - Tim Ferriss
Tim Ferriss's recommendation of this book 
Keith Rabois recommended this bookKeith Rabois
"Although the title may make it appear intuitive, the reading is much more insightful and applicable than you might guess." - Keith Rabois
Keith Rabois's recommendation of this book - Tobi Lütke recommended this book
Tobi Lütke
"Great book. I think she actually talks about me in it ?" - Tobi Lütke
Tobi Lütke's recommendation of this book 
Tom Bilyeu recommended this bookTom Bilyeu
Tom Bilyeu recommended this book on his website.
Tom Bilyeu's recommendation of this book 
Jodie Cook recommended this bookJodie Cook
"Enthusiasm and knowledge are totally useless without grit." - Jodie Cook
Jodie Cook's recommendation of this book +1
More recommendations
- Ali Abdaal
Ali Abdaal recommended this book on his website.
- Ali Abdaal
5
The Happiness Hypothesis
Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom
by Jonathan Haidt
Also recommended by
4 people
Joe Rogan recommended this bookJoe Rogan
"One of the best and most insightful books I’ve ever read." - Joe Rogan
Joe Rogan's recommendation of this book 
Charles Koch recommended this bookCharles Koch
Charles Koch recommended this book on his website.
Charles Koch's recommendation of this book 
Tony Hsieh recommended this bookTony Hsieh
"One great book in this field." - Tony Hsieh
Tony Hsieh's recommendation of this book 
Derren Brown recommended this bookDerren Brown
"First got me thinking about happiness (which led to Happy, my last book)." - Derren Brown
Derren Brown's recommendation of this book
6
Blink
The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
by Malcolm Gladwell
Also recommended by
3 people- Ev Williams recommended this book
Ev Williams
On the "books read" section of Ev Williams' GoodReads profile.
Ev Williams's recommendation of this book 
Kevin Systrom recommended this bookKevin Systrom
Kevin Systrom recommended this book on Facebook.
Kevin Systrom's recommendation of this book 
Mike Shinoda recommended this bookMike Shinoda
"I know most of the guys in the band read [this book]." - Mike Shinoda
Mike Shinoda's recommendation of this book
7
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Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me)
Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts
by Carol Tavris
Also recommended by
2 people
Peter Attia recommended this bookPeter Attia
"The moment I finished it, I not only reread it, but I bought it for about ten people." - Peter Attia
Peter Attia's recommendation of this book 
Glenn Beck recommended this bookGlenn Beck
"Some really good lessons!" - Glenn Beck
Glenn Beck's recommendation of this book
8
The Body Keeps the Score
Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
by Bessel van der Kolk
Also recommended by
2 people
Garry Tan recommended this bookGarry Tan
Garry Tan recommended this book on Twitter
Garry Tan's recommendation of this book 
Patrick O'Shaughnessy recommended this bookPatrick O'Shaughnessy
"[I] found it enlightening, useful, sobering, and often very scary." - Patrick O'Shaughnessy
Patrick O'Shaughnessy's recommendation of this book
9
Attached
The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find - and Keep - Love
by Amir Levine
Also recommended by
1 person
Kathryn Minshew recommended this bookKathryn Minshew
Most Recommended Books reached out to Kathryn Minshew directly.
Kathryn Minshew's recommendation of this book
10
Letting Go
The Pathway of Surrender
by David R. Hawkins
11
Rationality
What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters
by Steven Pinker
12
Retrain Your Brain
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in 7 Weeks
by Seth J. Gillihan PhD
13
The Anxiety and Worry Workbook
The Cognitive Behavioral Solution
by David A. Clark
14
The Comprehensive Clinician's Guide to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
by Leslie Sokol
15
The Happiness Trap
How to Stop Struggling and Start Living
by Russ Harris
Sources
Edited by
Richard Reis
Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.
Follow@richardreeze
Anurag Ramdasan
Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.
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