How Do We Know Ourselves?

Curiosities and Marvels of the Human Mind

By: David G. Myers

Narrated by: Adam Barr

Length: 5 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

“Each chapter is a gem of insight into the human experience, cut and polished to perfection by the renowned psychologist David Myers. Better than any book I can recall, this book answers questions about why we think, feel, and act as we do—but also makes us curious to learn more.”—Angela Duckworth

A delightful tour of the wonders of our humanity from David G. Myers, the award-winning professor and author of psychology’s bestselling textbook.

Over the past three decades, millions of students have learned about psychology from textbooks by David G. Myers. To create these books and to satisfy his own endless curiosity about the human mind, Myers monitors the leading journals to discover the most extraordinary new developments in psychological science.

How Do We Know Ourselves? is a compendium of the most wondrous verities that Myers has found: a thought-provoking audiobook about psychological science’s insights into our everyday lives. His astute observations and sharp-witted wisdom enable listeners to think smarter and live happier.

Myers’s explorations range from why we so often fear the wrong things to how simply going for a walk with someone can increase rapport and empathy. He explains why we repeatedly mishear song lyrics and how the color of President Obama’s suits aided in his decision-making. Myers also explores the powers and perils of our intuition, explaining why anything can seem obvious once it happens.

Each of these forty essays offers fresh insight into our sometimes bewildering but ever-fascinating lives, all drawn from psychology’s latest research. Myers is engaging and intellectually provocative, and he brings a wealth of knowledge from more than fifty years of teaching and writing about psychology to this lively and informative collection. He inspires us to ponder timeless questions, including what might be the most intriguing one of all: How do we know ourselves?

A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

©2022 David G. Myers (P)2022 Macmillan Audio

Enlightening

It’s been 40 years since I have taken undergraduate psychology courses, and progress in the field has been significant. The author does a good, reasonably balanced job of covering this progress.

Insights into human behavior

The author does have one weakness with his love of the Democratic Party. He would probably say most Democrats are holy, and most Republicans are evil. This weakness is probably needed to survive in the current academic environment.

Career Suggestion

Mr. Myers would be a great addition to the CNN lineup. Thinking Fast and Slow is a much, much better alternative.

Amazing

Loved it. The time flew as I listened and the information is very valuable.

Author’s politics drive examples

Most interesting aspects of the book are ones stemming from science and experiments. Unfortunately the author tries to illustrate too many interesting aspects of human psychology using issues drawn from recent politics and cultural battles to treat his beliefs as truth and alternative views as dysfunctional biases. Wouldn’t recommend the book.