Some Favourite Psychology Books

I have read all these books – some several times And many of the scholarly articles that support what is written in them. They are all based on excellent and rigorous research.

Positive Psychology in a Nutshell by Ilona Boniwel: an excellent short overview of the main concepts - written by my academic supervisor.

Learned Optimism, how to change your mind and your life by Martin Seligman: shows how optimism protects against depression and how we can all learn to practice it. A must-read for anyone suffering from any level of depression or who wants to support others who do.

Flourish by Martín Seligman: very readable account of the origins of positive psychology. Seligman’s latest book details his highly influential PERMA theory of well-being.

Mindfulness by Ellen Langer: I love this book! Langer shakes us out of our limiting mind-sets showing how easily we fall prey to ‘mindlessness’ and how we can instead embrace mindfulness and reap the many rewards for ourselves and for society.

Counterclockwise, a proven way to think yourself younger and healthier by Ellen Langer: covers some of the same ground as ‘Mindfulness’. It is well worth reading - especially if you enjoyed the 2010 BBC series ‘The Young Ones’ which was based on Langer’s work (her original experiment which was replicated in the series is actually described in ‘Mindfulness’ though touched on here) showing the mind-body connection and how we can use it to our benefit at any stage of life.

Positivity, ground-breaking research to release your Inner optimist and Thrive by Barbara Frederickson: Frederickson is one of the most influential positive psychologists. Here she presents her seminal ‘broaden and build’ theory showing how positive emotions make us more receptive, more creative and also more successful in business and in relationships. She presents the ratios we need for thriving and details many of the best exercises for increasing our own ratios.

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