12 Behavioural Science book recommendations a day until Xmas: The full 2021 list

In December 2021, I decided to post a book recommendation a day to LinkedIn for the 12 days of Xmas. Here is the full list of book recommendations...

Day 1 of 12: What Works: Gender Equality by Design by Iris Bohnet

Day 1 of 12 #BeSciBookRecommendationsADay until Xmas: Inspired by the advent calendar concept, I have decided to share twelve #BehaviouralScience book recommendations during December 2021.?

I've been a BeSci enthusiast for about a decade, and I'm currently completing an executive masters degree in Behavioural Science at The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), the learnings of which complement my day job. So I thought it would be nice to share the books that have inspired me and made me a better leader.?

As I am also a passionate advocate of #DiversityandInclusion, my first #bookrecommendation discusses #WhatWorks when leveraging Behavioural Science to achieve #GenderEqualityByDesign. This is one of my favourite books in both the D&I and BeSci domains because it is packed with practical advice from tried, tested and proven interventions. Here's a photo of my copy which is nice and dog-eared ... just how i like my books!

The author of 'What Works: Gender Equality by Design' is renowned behavioural economist and professor at Harvard University, Iris Bohnet. You can see her impressive bio here: https://lnkd.in/e78NhU3R

Day 2 of 12: Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely

Day 2 of 12 #BeSciBookRecommendationsADay until Xmas.?And today, I’m sharing my ‘gateway book’, i.e. the first Behavioural Science book I ever read (about a decade ago), and the book that triggered my passion for this field of study: Predictably Irrational by the amazing Dan Ariely.

It’s an oldie, but a goodie and such a great introduction for anybody new to Behavioural Science. In its simplest terms, Behavioural Science explores HOW and WHY people make decisions to give us a more comprehensive understanding of our decision-making patterns. ?We all like to think of ourselves as rational beings, fully aware of our preferences, and therefore fully in control of our choices and behaviours. But in reality, many of our preferences and choices take place at an unconscious level. That’s why people so often make what behavioural scientists describe as “boundedly rational” decisions.?So, for instance, why we opt for junk food even though we know that the rational decision (to ensure we live long healthy lives) is to go for the healthy food. Or why we splurge when we know we should be saving for a rainy day.

Predictably Irrational does exactly what it says on the tin. It not only outlines in what situations our decision-making is boundedly rational, but it also predicts how we are likely to behave in a certain decision-making context. By understanding both the boundedly rational nature of humans, and how certain cognitive biases can predict our choices, we can help people to make better decisions in the future.

If you want to gain a quick understanding of how cognitive biases such as loss aversion, anchoring, social norms, and more, influence our decisions, then this is the book for you. Who knows, perhaps this will also become your gateway book! But remember, as spiderman once said: “With great power comes great responsibility”.

Day 3 of 12: Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

Day 3 of 12 #BeSciBookRecommendationsADay until Xmas. And today, it’s the seminal work ‘Thinking Fast and Slow’ by Nobel prize-winning Daniel Kahneman and his late collaborator Amos Tversky.

If you only had time to read ONE book on #BehaviouralScience, THIS is the one I’d recommend. ?In fact, if I was asked the ‘desert island’ question (you know, you’re stranded on a desert island and can only bring one book …), this book would be my pick.?It is a brilliant and ground-breaking work from one of the founding fathers of Behavioural Science.?That’s not to say it’s light reading. The first time I read it was a few years ago lying by the pool whilst on holiday. I recall being enthralled for the most part, but confess to skimming over some of the more technical bits, missing key details.?But I got to read it again this time last year as it was on the ‘essential reading’ list for my Master’s degree. And this time, I didn’t just READ it, I STUDIED it. On my Kindle. With my virtual highlighter. And I was even more enthralled on my second reading.?There is just so much in this book that it deserves to be read more than once. And I’m sure I’ll read it cover-to-cover again, and maybe again after that (particularly if I end up stranded on a desert island with my book pick! And yes, I recognise the irony of choosing a book on human behaviour when I’m stranded alone!).

So, what’s the book about? Well, sometimes we ‘think fast’ (automatic ‘system 1’ thinking) and sometimes we ‘think slow’ (more deliberate and effortful ‘system 2’ thinking). When we are asked to add 2+2, we think fast. It requires no effort, and the answer is automatic. ?When we are asked to multiply 15 x 23, on the other hand, we think slow. Our ‘fast’ thinking explains why most of us have at some point gone into ‘autopilot’ when driving and just driven straight home. ?Without ‘system 1’ thinking, we’d have to put deliberate effort into each and every minuscule decision we make. And apparently, the average person makes about?35,000 decisions?a day. Which is a lot. But we don’t notice most of them. Thank you ‘system 1’!

So how is our ‘system 1’ so fast? Well, it’s down to mental shortcuts or heuristics such as the availability heuristic (i.e., basing our judgements on information and examples that come to mind quickly), and cognitive biases such as the framing effect (i.e., our choices are influenced by the way they are presented to us, or ‘framed’). While these mental shortcuts help us navigate life more easily, they can sometimes lead us down the wrong path. And that’s where the ground-breaking bit comes in. Understanding fast and slow thinking can help us predict, and even influence human behaviour, inspiring the design of many effective behavioural interventions across fields as wide as diversity & inclusion; sustainability; health and wellbeing; financial wellbeing, literacy and inclusion; and so much more.

Day 4 of 12: The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

Day 4 of 12 #BeSciBookRecommendationsADay until Xmas. Today’s book is another one that I first read quite a few years ago. But as we enter a new year, I think it’s worth my revisiting the core principles of how habits are formed once again. I certainly have some bad habits I’d like to ditch and some good habits I’d like to form in 2022!

The core premise of Charles Duhigg’s book “The Power of Habit: Why we do what we do and how to change” is the concept of a habit loop that consists of three elements, all of which must be present to create a consistent habit. The first, and most critical element, is a triggering cue that tells your brain to go into automatic mode. That could be a location cue, a time-of-day cue, an emotional state cue, and so on. If you’ve ever found yourself mindlessly snacking every time you sit on your couch or lighting up a cigarette every time you wait for a bus, then you’ll be familiar with the location cue. If you’ve ever found yourself comfort eating, then you’ll be familiar with the emotional state cue. It’s all quite logical, and that’s what I like about this book. The next stage of the habit loop is routine. It is well evidenced that consistency and repetition are key to habit formation. Take exercise for example: the routine is simply the workout itself. Completing the habit loop, there should be a reward to help your brain figure out if a particular loop is worth remembering. With exercise, the reward is built into the behaviour as studies show that physical activity leads to an increase in feel-good endorphins.

The bad news for folk like myself with a few too many vices is that, according to Duhigg, you can never truly extinguish bad habits. But the good news is that you can change a habit by keeping the old cue, and delivering the old reward, but inserting a new routine. Duhigg gives the example here of attempts to give up snacking, which, he says, will often fail unless there’s a new routine to satisfy old cues and reward urges (like going for a walk after dinner instead of eating dessert). The other good news is that some “keystone habits” have the power to start a chain reaction. For example, forming an exercise habit can create positive momentum to integrate additional healthy habits into your daily routine.

The Power of Habit is a great book for anyone looking to improve their own habits, but also for anyone seeking to assist others with building positive habits. Indeed, the habit loop framework has clearly been incorporated into many of the most successful health and fitness products on the market, from MyFitnessPal to Fitbit, Garmin and Peloton. It seems a lot of product owners in the fitness tech industry at least, have read this book! I hope it helps you as we enter a new year. As for me, I might have nailed the theory, but I’ve yet to nail the practical. But I have identified some of the triggers for my bad habits, so I know what to do in January. Thank you Charles Duhigg!

Day 5 of 12: Nudge by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein

Day 5 of 12 #BeSciBookRecommendationsADay until Xmas. And today, it’s another classic … the book that gave new meaning to the word #Nudge. In the influential book of the same name, BeSci giants Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein defined a nudge as “any aspect of the choice architecture that alters people’s behavior in a predictable way without forbidding any options”. To put it simply, a nudge is a subtle cue or intervention that ‘nudges’ people towards a desired behaviour without mandating it. By way of example, it turns out that the best way to encourage men to improve their urinal-directed aim is a strategically placed image of a fly to aim at. This simple nudge reduced spillage in Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport by 80% by engaging people’s automatic goal-oriented behaviours. The book is packed with lots more examples of simple but highly effective nudges aimed at “Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth and Happiness”.

Since the book’s publication in 2008, nudges have become an important additional tool in policy-makers’ toolkits. Indeed, many governments across the world have established what have been dubbed ‘Nudge Units’, most famously including the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) in the UK. The libertarian nature of nudges means that: “To count as a mere nudge, the intervention must be easy and cheap to avoid. Nudges are not mandates. Putting the fruit at eye level counts as a nudge. Banning junk food does not.”.

Though not mentioned in the book, one of my personal favourite nudges is aimed at encouraging commuters into the healthier behaviour of taking the stairs rather than the escalator. The solution? Make it fun. This is how an FAO Schwarz style floor piano ended up in a Swedish metro station. I guess if the movie ‘Big’ taught us anything, it’s that the fun of a giant floor piano is hard to resist! And thus, a new sub-set of Thaler & Sunstein's ‘Nudge Theory’ was born: ‘Fun Theory’. You can see the results here: https://lnkd.in/exiyxXjv.

Nudges are a powerful and often very effective policy tool. But I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again … as Spidey once said: “With great power comes great responsibility” ;-). That’s why, whenever Richard Thaler is asked to autograph a copy of the book, he signs with the note “Nudge for Good”.

Day 6 of 12: Alchemy by Rory Sutherland

Day 6 of 12 #BeSciBookRecommendationsADay until Xmas. Today’s recommendation, “Alchemy: The surprising power of ideas that don’t make sense” by advertising great and BeSci guru Rory Sutherland builds on the insight that our decisions are not always rational.

If you’ve ever paid more for a branded good (or even stripy toothpaste) over its generic equivalent, purchased a (still) expensive item just because it’s on sale, or dismissed all logical evidence and instead gone with your gut instinct when making a decision, then you’ll know that there is a difference between how the rational person should behave and how us humans actually behave in real life. As Sutherland says, “The human mind does not run on logic any more than a horse runs on petrol”.

Why then, do businesses design products, services and customer experiences based on standard-issue na?ve logic? Human behaviour is an enigma, and Rory Sutherland wants to crack the code through the power of an alternative logic, an illogic … a psycho-logic. Real life, Sutherland says, is not a conventional science: not everything that makes sense works, and not everything that works makes sense.

And that’s when the magic, or alchemy happens. By looking at problems in a non-obvious way, you can find unseen opportunities. Like the fact that painting shop shutters with images of large-eyed kid’s faces can reduce crime by inducing a calming effect. Or the fact that reducing uncertainty by clarifying Uber waiting times is a more effective customer experience strategy than actually reducing waiting times themselves*. Or that transport companies can save billions by making some comparatively minor customer experience improvements rather than investing in the costly upgrade to a high-speed train network.

Sutherland warns of the perils of attempting to design products for the average person because, as he illustrates, in real life there is no average person. He proves that “reason is not the only problem-solving tool” by highlighting the many great discoveries of our world which were the result of “a lucky accident” (is it just me that reads that in a Bob Ross voice?). Discoveries such as antibiotics, x-rays, microwaves and even pacemakers.

This is a book for product designers and entrepreneurs; marketers and advertising executives; behavioural science aficionados and anybody who is interested in the enigma that is human behaviour. Oh, and it’s a great listen. If you’ve ever listened to a Rory Sutherland podcast or talk, you’ll know that he is a super speaker. Thankfully, he narrates his own Audible book, and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this one.

I’ll finish as I often do by quoting Spidey: Remember, “with great power comes great responsibility”.

* On a side note, there is much evidence to prove that uncertainty fuels anxiety, so my personal view is that eradicating uncertainty in a myriad of customer experiences can only be a positive in our anxiety-ridden modern world.

Day 7 of 12: Think Big: Take small steps and build the future you want by Grace Lordan

Day 7 of 12 #BeSciBookRecommendationsADay until Xmas. So far, most of my book recommendations have focused on how to use #BehaviouralScience to improve other people’s decision-making patterns and choices.

But today’s book, “Think BIG: Take small steps and build the future you want” by Grace Lordan turns the behavioural lens inward, providing invaluable advice on how we can all take small steps to achieve our dreams and career goals.

Grace’s encyclopaedic knowledge of cognitive biases and other Behavioural Science concepts is weaved seamlessly throughout the book in a highly accessible and engaging manner. To illustrate the power of these concepts, Grace takes us on an honest, humble, and often witty autobiographical journey from her King-Lear-loathing secondary school days in Ireland, through various ups, downs and unexpected opportunities which brought her to where she is today: a popular Associate Professor at The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and Founding Director of The Inclusion Initiative at LSE.

The book contains some brilliantly named BeSci concepts, such as the “Tall poppy syndrome” (the tendency for people to knock down others who are achieving great things); “Reactance bias” (which seemed to invoke a Marty McFly “Did you call me chicken?” reaction in a young Grace who was deciding whether or not to continue with her computer engineering degree); and, my personal favourite, the “Saving face effect”, an explanation of which leads to the superb advice that: “Folks who make you feel bad about the failures you experience don’t deserve to hear about them. Seriously, **** them.”

If you are looking for practical advice to achieve your future goals, then this is the book for you. From strategies for overcoming procrastination, to advice on changing your personal narrative, and tips for creating more time in your day by banishing time sinkers, this book is packed with helpful, actionable advice from a leading Behavioural Science expert.

On a personal note, as an Irish woman of the same generation, I’d like to give kudos to Grace on including reference to the modh coinníollach (a challenge which has infuriated many a Leaving Cert student) in her international publication! That, and Boaty McBoatface. Early in the book, Grace tells us that she had to learn to adapt her writing style from an academic style to a more accessible one in order to write this book. Well, I’d say she achieved that goal, proving that if we follow her advice, we can also achieve anything we set our minds to.

Day 8 of 12: Invisible Women: Exposing data bias in a world designed for men by Caroline Criado Perez

Day 8 of 12 #BeSciBookRecommendationsADay until Xmas. And today, it’s the hugely important, but at times shocking book “Invisible Women: Exposing data bias in a world designed for men”.

As a female leader working in the payments technology sector, I often get asked WHY gender diversity is so important to the sector. Well, women account for a whopping 85% of purchases through a combination of their purchasing power and influence. So, it stands to reason that women should have a seat at the table when designing products and services for, well, women. And that principle holds true across all industries, which brings me back to the book at hand…

The sad fact is that far too many products, services and policy decisions in our world are designed and made without female representation, are based on data that is male-biased, or are built with a one-size-(doesn’t)-fit-all default (male) user in mind. In her impeccably researched book, #changemaker Caroline Criado Perez highlights how women’s needs, and female datasets have been invisible in the design of everything from medical procedures to speech recognition software; from smartphones to crash test dummies; and even the allocation of space for public toilets. On the latter, your blood will boil as you read that one in three women globally lacks access to safe toilets, a problem particularly acute for women (for I would have thought obvious reasons). On the former, your heart will sink as you read about the lack of female participants in medical trials, and therefore the increased prevalence of misdiagnosis or ineffective treatment for female patients. And when it comes to politics, you will shudder at the underrepresentation of women at the policy-making table, and the implications of that when it comes to legislation.

“Invisible Women” is an incredibly important #DiversityAndInclusion book. But it's also an important #BehaviouralScience book as it contains illuminating behavioural insights and learnings. By way of example, the book outlines how ‘blind’ auditions achieved gender parity for the New York Philharmonic orchestra. Concealing the identity (and therefore gender) of auditionees with a simple curtain had a powerful effect. My Day 1 book recommendation goes into more detail on how this behavioural insight evolved into the anonymisation of résumés in corporate workplaces to reduce systematic biases impacting hiring and promotion decisions, which are key drivers of workplace gender imbalances (not a perfect solution, but one tool in the D&I toolkit). And that’s the thing about these book recommendations. The insights and lessons become all the more powerful when combined. So, here’s a photo of my copy of Invisible Women hanging out with two of my previous book recommendations (and some academic papers) while I wrote an essay on #diversityandinclusion in the workplace – a topic very close to my own heart.

Day 9 of 12: How to Change: The science of getting from where you are to where you want to be by Katy Milkman

Day 9 of 12 #BeSciBookRecommendationsADay until Xmas. And today’s recommendation is my personal 2021 #BehaviouralScience Book of The Year. And I’m not alone in that opinion, because since its publication earlier this year, “How to Change: The science of getting from where you are to where you want to be” by BeSci great Katy Milkman has rocketed up the bestseller list.

And I’ll start with the good news. As we approach the end of 2021, many people will be thinking about their new year’s resolutions. The cynics will tell you that new year’s resolutions all too often fail. But Milkman disagrees: if you flip the discouraging statistics on their head, she says, you’ll see that 20% of the goals set each January succeed. That’s higher than any other random calendar date in the year. And she even has a behavioural concept to explain why this is a good time for change, “The Fresh Start Effect”. Fresh starts increase your motivation to change because they give you either a real clean slate or the impression of one.

But of course, having a fresh start is, well, just the start! You’ll need help overcoming impulsivity, procrastination, forgetfulness, laziness, and more. And (spoiler alert), Milkman’s excellent book provides practical tips to overcome all of these obstacles AND increase your confidence. Tips such as: Make like Mary Poppins and make your goal pursuit fun; allow yourself a few guilty pleasures but bundle them with a valuable activity like, say, doing the ironing whilst binge-watching Netflix (she calls this “temptation bundling”); or find a peer who has already managed to achieve one of your desired goals, like becoming a vegetarian, and “copy and paste” their strategy / life hack.

One of the things I love about this book is that it takes BeSci concepts like “The Habit Loop” (Day 4 recommendation) and updates them. For example, while it was previously thought that a routine like going to the gym was stickier if it was done at the same time of day, it turns out that a more flexible schedule is actually a good thing. Why? Because if you miss the gym in the morning, it doesn’t mean you don’t go at all, but just that you go at a different time in the day. So, build some flexibility into your routines. Oh, and allow yourself a limited number of emergency passes so that if you do miss a workout (or a run, or a calorie goal), you don’t fall prey to the “what-the-hell-effect” and let one slip spiral into a series of skipped workouts (or one chocolate spiral into a whole box of chocolates … we’ve all done it, right ... right?!).

I listened to this one on Audible, and really enjoyed it as it’s read by the author. Milkman is an excellent and engaging speaker which is not surprising given she is a Professor at Wharton School and a podcast host. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to find a peer who has successfully swapped snacking for a more virtuous activity so I can “copy and paste” their strategy…

Day 10 of 12: The Smarter Screen: Surprising ways to influence and improve online behaviour by Shlomo Benartzi

Day 10 of 12 #BeSciBookRecommendationADay until Xmas. And today’s recommendation is a must read for #UXdesigners, #ProductOwners, and anyone whose job it is to create a GREAT digital user experience: “The Smarter Screen: Surprising ways to influence and improve online behaviour” by acclaimed Behavioural Scientist, Shlomo Benartzi.

Many of our choices are rooted in processing that takes place before we even know what we’re perceiving. Because the online world is so visual, we easily slip into a more instinctive ‘system 1’ mode of thinking. When it comes to website design, that means that people often form their preferences in a just fraction of a second. So this book provides advice both on those elements of digital design that humans can actually notice in a fraction of a second (highlighting particularly the importance of colourfulness and visual complexity), as well as advice on what designers can do to engage a user’s more thoughtful and deliberate ‘system 2’ thinking. Benartzi calls this “Thinking architecture”. For example, if an educational website wants to increase users’ retention of content, they could leverage visual disfluency (e.g. font changes) or cognitive disfluency (e.g. forcing users to enter manual information) to add just enough desirable difficulty to make the content more memorable. Or if you want to change how people plan for their financial future, presenting them with a digitally manipulated aged rendering of their future self can help them create enough empathy for their future selves to overcome present bias and save for their retirement.

While this book is a must-read for UX designers, it goes far beyond digital design in its content and shares some fascinating insights into how human behaviour changes in an online environment. For example, computers make us feel anonymous, and therefore people are far more honest when interacting with a screen instead of a person. This “disinhibition effect” is a useful phenomenon for healthcare providers to be aware of as patients are more honest and open about their habits when filling in an online questionnaire. But it also explains why irresponsible behaviours are more present online, particularly the presence of trolling and rude comments on social media – acts that most people would never commit if they knew someone else was watching. Oh, and next time you find yourself ordering from an iPad or a kiosk at a restaurant, bear in mind that the mere presence of ordering from the screen may nudge you into ordering unhealthier food options.

The author of this book is a hugely influential Behavioural Scientist. Along with Richard Thaler, he was the co-mastermind behind the infamous “Save More Tomorrow” program, which helped millions of workers save more for their retirement. And the book is packed full of actionable insights from this #BehaviouralScience great.

Day 11 of 12: Messengers: Who we listen to, who we don't, and why by Stephen Martin and Joseph Marks

Day 11 of 12 #BeSciBookRecommendationsADay until Xmas. I first encountered today’s book recommendation, “Messengers: Who we listen to, who we don’t, and why” by Stephen Martin and Joseph Marks as part of a #DiversityAndInclusion book club pick. Little did I know back then how relevant the learnings from this book would become as our world plunged into a pandemic, and armchair epidemiologists with the ‘status’ of a blue tick on Twitter disseminated disinformation with alarming frequency.

The core premise of this book is that, in a world where we get bombarded with advice all the time, our brain has developed some shortcuts to figure out WHO we should pay attention to. Shortcuts like: does the person have socio-economic position, competence, dominance, or attractiveness (hard messenger factors); or do they connect with their audience through warmth, vulnerability, trustworthiness or charisma (soft messenger factors)?

And (this won’t come as a shock on day 11 of 12 #BehaviouralScience book recommendations), as with all our brain’s ‘system 1’ heuristics, sometimes these shortcuts can help lead us to a good decision, and sometimes they can lead us down the garden path. That’s why we might find ourselves taking medical advice from celebrities rather than actual medical doctors. It’s how, in 2016, a billionaire with zero experience of running a country beat Hillary Clinton, “the most experienced and qualified presidential candidate – not just then, but arguably ever”. And it’s why hair salon owners from low-income areas in Zimbabwe turned out to be far more effective public health messengers regarding the benefits of using condoms than public health nurses. It turns out that we put a lot of faith in the advice of people who are similar to us, and in people who we feel connected to - an insight that policy makers leveraged to great effect in Zimbabwe to improve the health and wellbeing of many.

And that’s what this book is ultimately about. It’s a book about WHO we listen to, and WHY. It draws on much empirical research to explain the psychology behind why it is so often the messenger, rather than the message, that matters. It is an important book for #DiversityAndInclusion champions, for #PolicyMakers and for #BehaviouralScience enthusiasts.

I think it would be really interesting to see a revised version of this book with new examples, good, bad and ugly, from these past two pandemic years. For instance, I wonder who was statistically the more effective messenger for overcoming vaccine hesitancy: Dr. Fauci or Dolly “vacciine, vacciiine, vacciiine, vaciiii-ii-iiine” Parton?

Day 12 of 12: Happiness by Design: Finding pleasure and purpose in everyday life by Paul Dolan

Day 12 of 12 #BeSciBookRecommendationsADay until Xmas. The first book I read this year is also my final book recommendation for the year: “Happiness by Design: Finding pleasure and purpose in everyday life” by #BehaviouralScience guru, Professor Paul Dolan. Dolan’s distinguished career has seen him become an internationally renowned expert on happiness, behaviour and public policy. Through his extensive portfolio of work, he has collaborated with many of the world’s leading BeSci experts, including the great Daniel Kahneman, who wrote the foreword for his book. And I was so lucky to start my year attending his lectures at LSE.

The book introduces us to the concept of the pleasure-purpose principle, which states that to be truly happy, you need to feel both pleasure and purpose. But it’s a balancing act. Imagine a pendulum with pleasure on one side, and purpose on the other: the goal is to get the balance right.

Sounds simple, but our lives are complicated. So how do we figure out which activities or behaviours bring us pleasure and purpose, and what the optimal balance is? Well, we could start by paying attention to how different activities make us feel. And the book provides a tool (the Day Reconstruction Method) to help with that. Because, let’s be honest, most of us hop on the treadmill of life without taking the time to reflect on whether the activities we prioritise are the best activities to maximise our happiness.

Our happiness, Dolan tells us, is determined by how we allocate our attention. He illustrates this point by sharing a personal story of his struggles with a speech stammer when he was younger, wisely noting that once he stopped paying so much attention to the stammer, it stopped bothering him so much.

Hedonic happiness is not the goal of this book. Indeed, Dolan remarks that it can be a good thing to be unhappy if you will reap the benefits at a later point. The example he gives is the act of giving up smoking. It might make us unhappy in the short term, but it will improve our long-term happiness. This is also an example of a key behavioural science concept: overcoming our present bias, or tendency to opt for immediate gratification over longer-term gains. The book is packed with advice on how we can leverage other behavioural science concepts such as priming, defaults and commitment devices to ‘design’ our own happiness.

I read this book on my Kindle a year ago. And in writing this recommendation, I re-read all the passages I had highlighted back then. And I realised that, if I’m honest, I never put any of the great advice into action. So, in 2022, I plan to re-read this book. More slowly. And with my own action plan in mind. Because after 21 months of pandemic life, I reckon we could all do with some advice on the science of happiness. Which is why I selected this book as my final book recommendation. Wishing all of you a very happy 2022 and beyond.