36 Psychology Books That Will Help You Improve Your Life

Psychology books are the best way to know and interpret our mind. We offer you a selection of recommended readings to learn more about this exciting field.

The psychology books are a good way to know more about ourselves and the world around us. Understanding human behavior, their fears, aspirations, challenges and how interpersonal relationships and the environment develop is an interesting area of ​​knowledge for many people. Whether you are a psychology professional or you simply want to discover new tools, get closer to self-knowledge or achieve a fuller life, we offer you a selection of essential books for psychologists that cannot be missing from your library.

Among these recommended books will show you some topics within psychology such as clinical, neuropsychology, stress and emotion management, positive psychology or the history of psychoanalysis are some of the specialties of this science that appear in our list of psychology works. However, given that this theme is one of the most in-demand today, you will also be able to discover some self help books are interesting for their contribution and perspective. So, do you want to discover the psychology books that we present to you?

*If you are interested in going even deeper into some aspects of psychology and you are a mental health professional, we recommend that you take into account master’s degrees in psychology. This training will allow you to take another step in your specialization and work on what you want most.

30 essential psychology books

The psychology books can help us understand concepts, as well as aspects of ourselves that we may not have taken into account. For this reason, the following readings will allow you to improve many aspects of your life:

1. Dear brain, what the hell do you want from me? by Lorena Gascón

In this psychology book aim is to confront the beliefs that we all have with humor. The goal is for your readers to realize that, although things can happen to all of us that are not our fault, in other cases you can be a part of the solution. That is to say, sometimes the only way to get what we want is to face what we like least about ourselves. Through this book, Lorena Gascón, known as @lapsicologajaputa on social networks, intends to help us understand the reasons for what happens to us and learn to live at peace with ourselves.

2. I, ego by Maria De Mondo

This psychology book will help you discover where your ego hides and how to connect with your true self to live in peace. In this work we can find many examples of how the ego dominates us and can affect us in many aspects. By controlling the ego, people can relieve their anxiety, sadness and frustrations to start living a fulfilled life.

3. The 5 seasons of self-esteem by Ana Belén Medialdea

Through this reading, the author will make us reflect on our past to reconnect with our inner child. This way, regardless of the difficult or complicated situations you have experienced, this psychology book will allow you to understand how to deal with the problems of insecurity and self-esteem that arise from it. Ana Belén Medialdea will guide you through advice, short stories and exercises through the five seasons of self-esteem and learn everything you need to cultivate your self-love, establish limits and take charge of yourself.

4. More love please by Arantxa Coca

Thanks to this book can find many tools to build a healthy and compatible couple. In it you will find the keys to healthier communication and, above all, the strategies that will allow you to turn each crisis into an opportunity to strengthen our love. In addition, it will allow us to choose those people who best fit our love style to form the perfect combo.

5. Trust, everything is fine by Laura Chica

This reading is required you want to change your life and don’t know where to start. In fact, it will allow you to trust yourself when you need to replenish your strength. Therefore, this is a book that will help you take a deep breath and keep walking when you can’t find meaning.

6. Think fast, think slow by Daniel Kahneman

Published in 2011, this is one of the psychology books has become required reading for all those who wish to investigate the power of intuition and emotions, as well as logic and reason. Its author, Daniel Kahneman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics along with Vernon Smith for integrating psychological research into economic science regarding personal judgment and decision making. This is precisely what the work we recommend is about, a reflection on our thinking, the way we develop it and its importance in the decisions we finally make. This is one of the most recommended books to read if you are an indecisive or insecure person about the elections.

7. Emotional intelligenceby Daniel Goleman

More than twenty years have passed since Daniel Goleman published this work in 1995, one of the psychology books that have become a classic and reference guide in many educational fields. In it, the American psychologist delves into the origin of human emotions, and how these, and not intelligence itself, shape the skills and abilities that will define us as people in all aspects of our lives. In short, after reading this book for psychologists will perfectly understand what we call emotional intelligence. As you can understand, this is one of the essential books that you must read if you want to learn to control and manage your emotions.

“In a very real sense, all of us have two minds, a thinking mind and a feeling mind, and these two fundamental forms of knowing interact to construct our mental life.”

8. Why we lie… especially to ourselves by Dan Ariely

Lying is one of the most common actions that human beings perform, whether consciously or unconsciously through small unimportant things or in others such as large scams. In this psychology book for beginners Dan Ariely, professor of psychology and behavioral economics, presents without any type of moral judgment all the reasons that lead us to lie, how to avoid it and how to protect ourselves from lies. This is one of the essential books to learn to understand more about our personality and our unconscious side.

9. Multiple intelligences: Theory in practice by Howard Gardner

In this work, the father of multiple intelligences compiles a compilation on the importance of abilities in individuals and the need for these abilities to be taken into account when designing educational systems. Therefore it is one of the best books to read if you want to work on your personal and professional evolution. All of this is explained in one of these essential books to read so that subjects learn to fully develop them. One of the most practical psychology books.

10. To love or depend? by Walter Riso

This well-known work is almost an essential manual for analyzing and understanding relationship problems, the situation of dependency that is generated in many of them and the need to cultivate a healthy relationship between equals to preserve love. An analysis to achieve romantic relationships that are the sum of two but in which no one loses. That is why this is one of the outstanding psychology books you should choose if your relationship is not at its best.

“We cannot live without affection, no one can, but we can love without enslaving ourselves. It is one thing to defend the emotional bond and quite another to hang oneself with it. Detachment is nothing more than a choice that screams: love is the absence of fear.”

11. The man who mistook his wife for a hat by Oliver Sacks

Written by the British neurologist and writer Oliver Sacks, this is one of the psychology books that compile clinical cases. Follow the trend of Awakeningsa work from 1973 that talks about patients with encephalitis lethargica and that Hollywood made into a film in the nineties. In this case, the author tells the story of twenty medical records of patients with neurological diseases: from those who have lost their memory to those who see their perceptions modified or those who show extraordinary and unusual scientific or artistic gifts. The book exposes all the ins and outs of the human mind to reveal them. This is yours books about the mind that will resolve many doubts you may have about this part of our brain.

12. The power of habits by Charles Duhigg

Our emotional well-being is influenced by decisions we make. These decisions are based on habits, customary acts that define our behavior at school, work or in a relationship, for example. The writer Charles Duhigg explains to us through this psychology book to read how we can change them to definitively take the reins of our lives.

“Habits, scientists say, arise because the brain constantly looks for ways to save effort.”

13. The Lucifer effect: the reason for evil by Philip Zimbardo

Human behavior can be very negative. The author knows this well; Not in vain was he an expert witness in the trial that determined the behavior of some American soldiers in the Abu Ghraib prison, in Iraq. All of this, together with the results of the Stanford Experiment, carried out in the 1960s, constitute the basis on which one of the most curious psychology books on the list is based, which tries to investigate the origin of evil in the core of human behavior. On your list books to read you must add this work on the psychology of evil.

14. Who took my cheese? How to adapt to a constantly changing world by Spencer Johnson

A pleasant book, easy to read and very entertaining. It is not a typical psychology book, but it is an interesting tool that we can apply to many areas of our lives. Written in 1998, Spencer Johnson’s story has already seduced millions of readers and is a true bestseller. In one of these essential books to read about psychology through a parable, describes the most common reactions we have to change and how they manage our lives.

“Then he realized that his fears were only making things worse, so he laughed at himself and did what he would have done if he weren’t scared: move in a new direction.”

15. The seven sins of memory: How the mind forgets and remembers by Daniel L. Schacter

Despite everything we know today, how the mind works remains a mystery, especially when it comes to memory to the mechanisms that make us remember some things and not others, that it remains unchanged or is lost, that causes lapses or that invents memories that we have not experienced. It is one of the books for psychologists by Harvard psychology professor, Daniel L. Schacter, who tries to expose the complexity of these psychic processes and the importance of the unconscious in many of them.

16. The art of not making life bitter by Rafael Santandreu

By narrating real cases that the psychologist himself has experienced, the book The art of not making life bitter presents how there are negative and catastrophic emotions that prevent us from achieving the strength and security necessary to achieve our personal well-being. In one of these books to learn acquire new habits, the author tries to make us reflect on the presence of negativity in our daily lives. Mired in a society that suffers from “needitis”, Rafael Santandreu rethinks the lifestyle we currently lead and how we can vary it to achieve a fuller society and life. A bestseller that we also include in this selection of psychology books.

““Happiness does not depend on achievements or ideal situations, but on our mental health.”

17. The art of loving Erich Fromm

Another classic to understand and improve our couple relationships. Despite having been published for more than sixty years, its pages are still very current. Erich Fromm, German sociologist, psychologist and philosopher and member of the so-called Frankfurt School, presents in this work the erroneous image we have about love and how it should be based on respect and acceptance of human imperfections as part of our own. be. In addition to being one of the best books to read at a narrative level will also make you see how we live love from another perspective.

18. The interpretation of dreams Sigmund Freud

This author could not be missing from this list of books that must be read about psychology. We cannot continue with our list of essential psychology books without collecting the magnum opus of the founder of psychoanalysis. The importance of dreams and the link that Sigmund Freud establishes between them and the unconsciousness hidden behind desires constitute the fundamental theme of this book. The interpretation of dreamsdespite its century of history, continues to be a basic reference to approach the psychoanalysis.

19. Your wrong areas by Wayne Dyer

In one of these good books for your personal reflection we are shown how the society in which we move and interact is full of situations that often surpass us. We often behave out of guilt or what people will say, which prevents us from getting what we really want. Finding out what is holding us back from achieving happiness is the objective of this title by Wayne Dyer, one of the best-selling self-help books in history.

“The now is all there is, and the future is simply another present moment to be lived when it arrives.”

20. Powerful Mind, by Bernabé Tierno

Neurons have a behavioral pattern acquired over the years and experiences of each person. The renowned Spanish psychologist and psychotherapist Bernabé Tierno proposes in one of his psychology books regain control of our brain and reeducate those neurons that send certain signals to change habits towards a positive life. Within cognitive psychology, one of the most recommended books if you want to learn about this area of ​​science that studies human behavior.

21. The end of anxiety, by Gio Zararri

Anxiety is the central theme of this psychology book to read which, from the author’s own experience, helps to understand and overcome one of the psychological problems that affects the most people today. And all from a close point of view and large doses of humor.

“If you stop fearing and start understanding, everything will change much sooner than you imagine.”

22. The stranger within us by Arno Gruen

This title by Arno Gruen, one of Germany’s most important social psychologists, investigates the root of violence, arguing that it lies in self-hatred and that it originates in childhood. This is one of the psychology books for beginners with which we can understand the struggle between love and power that influences the development of personality and that manifests itself in a dehumanization that is very present in contemporary societies. A work that could not be missing among basic psychology books.

23.Mindful Eating: The taste of attention by Javier García Campayo, Héctor Morillo, Álba López and Marcelo Demarzo

Many times poor diet is a symptom that something is not right. This book written by several authors focuses on people’s way of eating and gives the reader resources to detect when it has become a problem. It proposes various tools to manage emotions that can cause anxiety about eating and that, sometimes, hide anxiety, stress and depression. Mindfulness, or the technique of conscious attention, applied to food. If you want to learn to relate better to food, this will be one of the essential books to read about it.

24. Psychology of creativity by Manuela Romo

The author Manuela Romo presents in one of the essential psychology books more specifically the psychological dimensions that are needed to adopt a creative attitude. Among them, motivation, the release of blockages and the adoption of new perspectives that allow progress stand out. It is one of the essential works of study to understand how we function in the field of creativity.

25. The art of making life bitter by Paul Watzlawick

If before we talked about “not getting bitter” with Rafael Santandreu’s book, now we collect a self help book with a similar title but with a nuance: the author encourages doing it through funny anecdotes. Through this story contained in one of these interesting books to read, the renowned philosopher and psychologist Paul Watzlawick confronts us with everyday situations and the conscious or unconscious way of reacting to them and how these promote or harm our personal growth. Among them, it deals with topics such as the importance of being faithful to what you think and feel, the self-fulfilling prophecy or self-love.

“Anyone can lead a bitter life, but making your life bitter on purpose is an art that can be learned.”

26. Accompany in the duel by Manuel Nevado and José González

One of the most specific manuals to treat the grieving process. Accompany in the duel. From the absence of meaning to the meaning of absence is a book aimed at professionals who accompany people in the painful process of losing a loved one. It offers all the necessary tools with dynamics and practical exercises that provide resources to doctors, psychologists and caregivers to face an ideal and useful attitude in these situations. It is one of the books for psychologists which won the 2012 Lafourcade-Ponce award and has already been put into practice with very good results. If you are in a grieving situation, this is an interesting book that will help you face this moment with a better attitude.

27. The social animal by Elliot Aronson

The behavior of people studied from aspects as diverse as violence, conformity or attraction is the basis of this work, one of the great social psychology books necessary for any student of the subject. The American psychologist Elliot Arnson, with a pleasant and easy-to-understand style, addresses these phenomena in one of the most recommended books to read about social interactions.

“When a person is deeply committed to ideas, he prefers individuals who disagree with him to those who agree, as long as he can convert them to his way of thinking.”

28. The red book by Carl Jung

Considered the core of all his later work, in this interesting psychology book was found in manuscript form and was written between 1914 and 1930, although it remained unpublished until 2009. In this title, the founder of the school of analytical psychology delves into the depth of the unconscious and the subsequent symbolic interpretation. Another basic among books for psychologists or as one of the essential books for those who want to get closer to this science.

29. The blank slate by Steven Pinker

This work by Steven Pinker from 2002 explores human nature and its ethical, political and emotional characteristics and analyzes the ways in which the environment in which it operates affects it. It analyzes previous currents and demonstrates that knowledge of this nature focused on science and common sense is a good complement to them. It is one of the psychology books with the most philosophical view of the market. That is why it can be one of the essential books to know ourselves better.

“Genetics and neuroscience show that a sinister heart cannot always be blamed on parents or society.”

30. The useless worry by Laura Vera

We all worry when we have unexpected situations, important challenges or relevant decisions to make before us. The question presented by one of the most recommended books by Laura Vera is how we care. According to the author, there are two ways to do it: the useless and the useful. The first leads us to suffer and block ourselves while the second brings out the best in us by approaching it from a decisive and simplifying perspective. Not in vain, from the cover it reminds us of Mark Twain’s famous phrase:

“I have had thousands of problems in my life, most of which never happened.”

31. Understand life by Alfred Adler

Written clearly and in a direct manner, the considered founder (along with Sigmund Freud and Carl Gustav Jung) of modern psychology, in Understanding Life, raises the need to study the personality in its entirety, taking into account the contexts and starting from a basis of equality. And from there he exposes his main theories, necessary to understand the evolution of psychology throughout the last century. A necessary manual among the books for psychologists. In this way it is the best book to read to rediscover our personality from another perspective.

32. Motivation and personality by Abraham Maslow

The author of the famous Maslow’s pyramid presents his theories in his psychology books. This part of his work identifies human needs through a hierarchy in ascending categories depending on the capacity for motivation. At the top of the pyramid is self-realization. Abraham Maslow is considered one of the creators and main exponents of humanistic psychology, the current that defends the basic human tendency towards mental health. Without a doubt, this work should be among your outstanding books to read about psychology.

“Once physiological needs are satisfied, other needs arise that dominate. When physiological needs are relatively well met, a new set of needs then emerges, which can be broadly categorized as safety needs.”

33. The wisdom of psychopaths by Kevin Dutton

under the subtitle Everything serial killers can teach us about lifethis interesting book delves into the analysis of psychopathy and how it works in our society. With examples of real and fictional characters ranging from Hannibal Lecter to Vincent Van Gogh, Kevin Dutton combines scientific knowledge with storytelling to reveal the traits of these profiles and their lesser-known parts.

34. Influenceby Robert B. Cialdini

An expert in the field of persuasion psychology, Cialdini offers in this psychology book all the keys to discover why we say “yes” or why we buy some things and not others. Influence addresses the reasons that make you make a decision or change your mind regarding a certain proposition. These, according to the author, are governed by basic principles that direct our behavior and which are classified into the following categories: coherence, reciprocity, social conformity, authority, sympathy and scarcity. If you want to understand the power of influences, this is one of the good books to read about it.

35. Psychology and pedagogy by Jean Piaget

Published in Spain more than 30 years ago, the Swiss psychologist’s theories are still fully valid. In this book, Jean Piaget proposes how to apply his research on the evolution of children’s and adolescents’ thinking to education, adapting the pedagogical proposal to all educational stages. Piaget remains a classic and his psychology books should be in any personal bookcase.

36. 50 classics of Psychology by Tom Butler-Bowdon

We finish this list of psychology books with a basic manual in the library of any psychologist or psychology student. This work compiles the 50 most outstanding psychology books in history in the last 100 years. From authors such as Sigmund Freud to Jean Piaget through Daniel Goleman, a single volume is enough to discover the work and research of the great thinkers in this field.

This is our selection of the most recommended psychology books of recent times. Logically, as it is one of the most in-demand fields, there are many more, we encourage you to discover them and leave us your favorite titles in the comments.