What Makes Your Brain Happy and Why You Should Do the Opposite

Although this book is for general readers, it is not a self-help book; instead, it interprets recent scientific insight from behavioral science and cognitive and experimental psychology to explore the ways in which the human mind relies on irrational thinking, stereotypes, inflexible internal scripts, and distortion to make automatic decisions. Author DiSalvo, creator of the science blogs Neuronarrative and Neuropsyched, explains that our brains' default mode is weighted toward maintaining certainty, avoiding risk, and preventing loss, but these same tendencies can become obstacles. Using real life examples and anecdotes, he explains when and how to go against our brain's natural leanings. The book closes with 50 tips on life in general, drawn from the research discussed in the book, plus an extensive, annotated list of books, web sites, and blogs for general readers, as well as scientific journals. The cover offers a funny color photo of the brain as a frayed rubber-band ball, but otherwise the book contains no pictures. The author has written for Psychology Today and Mental Floss. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

David DiSalvo (Atlanta, GA) is a science, technology, and culture writer whose work appears in Scientific American Mind, Psychology Today, Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, Mental Floss, and other publications, and he is the writer behind the well-regarded science blogs Neuronarrative and Neuropsyched.