It's here! Browse the 2024 Penguin Christmas gift guide
The Domesticated Brain

The Domesticated Brain

A Pelican Introduction

Summary

What makes us social animals?
Why do we behave the way we do?
How does the brain influence our behaviour?


The brain may have initially evolved to cope with a threatening world of beasts, limited food and adverse weather, but we now use it to navigate an equally unpredictable social landscape. In The Domesticated Brain, renowned psychologist Bruce Hood explores the relationship between the brain and social behaviour, looking for clues as to origins and operations of the mechanisms that keep us bound together. How do our brains enable us to live together, to raise children, and to learn and pass on information and culture? Combining social psychology with neuroscience, Hood provides an essential introduction to the hidden operations of the brain, and explores what makes us who we are.

About the author

Bruce Hood

Bruce Hood is a professor of Developmental Psychology in Society at the University of Bristol and the author of SuperSense, The Self Illusion and The Domesticated Brain. He is an elected Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, the British Psychology Society and the Royal Institution of Great Britain.
Learn More

Sign up to the Penguin Newsletter

For the latest books, recommendations, author interviews and more