<p>Yeah, it's too difficult to say ALL the books, because there are thousands.  Some good ones I've come across lately are "Thinking Fast and Slow" by Kahneman.  His ideas have been enormously influential, especially since he won the Nobel Prize, and it's easy to read.</p>

<p>Another book I've been reading lately is "The Evolution of Childhood" by Melvin Konner.  It's not really psychology, more behavioral biology and evolution, but it's relevant to psychology and interesting.</p>

<p>I'll come back and post more as I think of them.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-11-20T16:29:31.927Z
2015-11-20T16:29:31.927Z
Alana
<p>Can anyone give a list of all the books one should read in order to have a fairly general understanding of psychology, and with somewhat of an emphasis cognitive and evolutionary psychology. I realize that the discipline diversifies and it is a difficult thing to do, but perhaps it can something like the books a typical psychology major would have to read in undergrad? And I welcome reading the technical works so please feel to mention them.</p>

<p>*What I am interested in is the difference between the attempts of existential philosophy and psychology and their results of human understanding, and how the two compliment and relate to each other. If anyone has any recommendations on this question specifically, other than the works of Maslow, that will really help. Thanks in advance.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-11-17T08:30:19.020Z
This seems far to broad a question, to me. You could look at the reading list associated with a local university's Psych 101 course or start with an introductory textbook.
splint
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-11-17T16:18:05.013Z
Possible duplicate of [What books should I study to have a decent understanding of psychology?](http://cogsci.stackexchange.com/questions/8051/what-books-should-i-study-to-have-a-decent-understanding-of-psychology)
honi
<cognitive-psychology><social-psychology><reference-request><philosophy-of-mind>
A list of books on the big ideas of psychology
Bunny
# A list of books on the big ideas of psychology

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-11-17)

Can anyone give a list of all the books one should read in order to have a fairly general understanding of psychology, and with somewhat of an emphasis cognitive and evolutionary psychology. I realize that the discipline diversifies and it is a difficult thing to do, but perhaps it can something like the books a typical psychology major would have to read in undergrad? And I welcome reading the technical works so please feel to mention them.

\*What I am interested in is the difference between the attempts of existential philosophy and psychology and their results of human understanding, and how the two compliment and relate to each other. If anyone has any recommendations on this question specifically, other than the works of Maslow, that will really help. Thanks in advance.

**Tags:** cognitive-psychology, social-psychology, reference-request, philosophy-of-mind

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: This seems far to broad a question, to me. You could look at the reading list associated with a local university's Psych 101 course or start with an introductory textbook.  
> **username_2**: Possible duplicate of [What books should I study to have a decent understanding of psychology?](http://cogsci.stackexchange.com/questions/8051/what-books-should-i-study-to-have-a-decent-understanding-of-psychology)  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2015-11-20. Score: 2

Yeah, it's too difficult to say ALL the books, because there are thousands. Some good ones I've come across lately are "Thinking Fast and Slow" by Kahneman. His ideas have been enormously influential, especially since he won the Nobel Prize, and it's easy to read.

Another book I've been reading lately is "The Evolution of Childhood" by Melvin Konner. It's not really psychology, more behavioral biology and evolution, but it's relevant to psychology and interesting.

I'll come back and post more as I think of them.


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