From the Bookshelf of Distance Learning - Fun Reading List Group…

[close] This book summarises what causes behaviour, across many perspectives in biological and evolutionary psychology.

Behave is structured like a mystery, going back in time to answer the question: "Why has this behaviour occurred?", going back:
- milliseconds, to see the activity of neurons
- hours, to find out how hormones affect behaviour
- decades, to discuss how the behaviours are effected by development and enculturation
- millions of years, to discover how our behaviours are influenced by evolution.

The book summarises a huge amount of scientific research. While this is therefore a strong introduction to various perspectives, this means that not all theories are discussed in detail, and the book sometimes includes findings in social psychology which did not replicate (e.g., were experimental anomalies rather than genuine findings).

I recommend reading this to gain background knowledge, before studying individual psychological perspectives in more detail. The main benefit of reading Behave is to better understand how different perspectives in psychology connect.