Power of Others : Peer Pressure, Groupthink, and How the People Around Us Shape Everything We Do

"Entertaining, informative reading." - Kirkus Reviews

Discover how in almost every area of our lives, our behaviour is influenced far more by others than we'd like to imagine.

Teenage cliques, jihadist cells, army units, polar expeditions, and football hooligans -- on the face of it, each of these groups might seem exceptional, but the forces that bind and drive them can affect us all. In recent decades, psychologists have uncovered how and why our innate social urges holds huge sway over how we think and act, propelling us to both high achievement and unthinking cruelty. We are beholden to our peers, even when we think we're calling the shots. This is the power of others.

In this captivating work, science writer Michael Bond investigates the latest breakthroughs in social psychology to reveal how to guard against groupthink, build better teamwork, identify shared objectives, become more ethical, and survive moments of isolation.