How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior

Great book! Very insightful stuff on the subcounscious mind. Up-to-date information and research studies and Mlodinow does a great job keeping you gripped. Great read on the commute to work or when you have free time!

Leonard did an excellent job of showing we are not who we think we are, because thinking is an activity of the conscious mind. Try doing something for an hour without thinking about it. It is easy to see why we think we are our conscious selves. This book will make you rethink that
I read it nonstop from start to finish, it was that good.

The study of the unconscious is a realm of psychology that even the most educated and knowledgeable psychologists throughout history have had trouble deciphering and understanding. The human unconscious is captivating due to its hidden nature; access to the unconscious is not direct and not easily attainable. The book Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior by Leonard Mlodinow is an informative book that explores the unconscious and the extent to which it influences our behavior on a daily basis. The unconscious is a controlling force in all of our thoughts, actions and beliefs, and heavily influences all of our decision-making. Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior provides revealing information regarding the unconscious, which helps the reader gauge a deeper and more thorough understanding of the effect it has on our psychological activity.
Leonard Mlodinow was born in Chicago, Illinois in the year 1954. During a semester off school, he discovered his love of physics. He then studied as a doctoral student at the University of California Berkley, and quickly became a professor at Caltech University. From there he published numerous theories in quantum physics. Intrigued by the human mind and how it functions, he has written many books, including The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules our Lives and The Grand Design with Stephen Hawking, which are just two of his New York Times best sellers. Mlodinow's background in physics makes his voyage into the world of the unconscious an interesting one, as he has made the transition from hard and fast equations to a world of more abstract and murky theories. This makes Subliminal a particularly engaging read because the reader feels as if he or she is discovering the unconscious world with Mlodinow, rather than be lectured at.
The book has ten chapters, the first half of which deals with the research and history of the unconscious. The second half of the book applies this research and information to clearly illustrate the affects of the unconscious on daily scenarios and circumstances that humans encounter. Each chapter discusses and explores a specific function of the psychological domain, such as vision, and how it is influenced by the unconscious. I really enjoyed the organization of the book because it had a structure that started with black and white research that was then followed by real-life examples, which made it very easy to follow the material being presented.
One example of the function of the unconscious is portrayed in Chapter 2, "Senses Plus Mind Equals Reality". Mlodinow recounts the story of the patient TN. TN had severe damage to the visual center of his brain (the visual cortex), which caused him to become completely blind. What intrigued scientists is that TN could navigate through a room full of obstacles successfully, despite being unable to see anything. His conscious aspect of sight was lost, but it was assumed that his unconscious still sensed the objects and sent messages to other parts of his brain to react. This phenomenon is now known as "blindsight," which is when the conscious visual system is non-functional, but the unconscious system that tells us to move out of the way when something is coming at us, or to step over something that is on the floor in front of us. This experiment proves that the unconscious is highly developed and adapts with challenging situations, such as the loss of one's sight. Even more importantly, it shows that the unconscious and conscious minds operate independently of one another, which was a huge milestone in the world of neuroscience.
Mlodinow also discusses memory storage and brain energy consumption, citing a study that compared physical activity and brain consumption in which it was discovered that the brain does not change its energy output depending on the task. For example, let's think of our muscles during strenuous exercise. Our muscles consume 100 times more energy for intense activity than simply sitting on a chair. But that is not the situation when it comes to the brain. The unconscious mind is constantly at work, even when the conscious mind is at rest. Mlodinow's puts it this way: "Regardless of whether your conscious mind is idle or engaged, your unconscious mind is hard at work doing the mental equivalent of push-ups, squats, and wind sprints" (Mlodinow 187). We take for granted the fact that our unconscious mind is always working and analyzing.
Mlodinow's consistent use of conclusive scientific evidence is illustrated in chapter one (The New Unconscious). The Pepsi Paradox is a term used to describe the fact that in blind taste tests, Pepsi consistently wins, yet people seem to prefer Coke when they know that they are drinking it. One cause of this disconnect is the effect of the brand name on their opinion, but when asked if this influenced their opinion, people replied, "No." He supports this claim using scientific research; for example, one study used brain-imaging techniques that discovered an area next to the orbitofrontal cortex called the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPC). The VMPC is a part of the brain activated when we experience happiness due to a familiar brand name product. In another study, conducted In 2007, VMPC was studied. In this study, there were two different groups participating, one group was volunteers with VMPC damage and the other group consisted of volunteers with intact VMPC. The first situation was a blind test between Pepsi and Coke, and as expected, both groups favored Pepsi. Next, another test was done with the brands labeled. Here the group with the healthy VMPC preferred Coke while the group with the damaged VMPC still preferred Pepsi. What happened was not an explicit factor affecting their choice, it was an implicit factor, such as the brand that the unconscious acts on. Mlodinow states, "Our brains are not simply recording a taste or other experience, they are creating it" (Mlodinow 25). I felt this study was a great way to illustrate the role that the unconscious plays in complex decision-making; our unconscious prompts us to take into consideration factors other than taste, such as status or popularity, when making decisions. The study also rang true to me because it showed the way in which we as humans differ from animals, who would have simply chosen the more tasty option.
Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior provides new information regarding the unconscious. I enjoyed reading this book because it taught me about the different ways in which the unconscious controls our actions, thoughts and decisions. At first I thought Mlodinow was only going to explore and contrast the common theories relating to the unconscious that are discussed in most educational institutions, such as the Oedipus Complex. However, he takes a new, refreshing approach in exploring the more common day-to-day ways in which the unconscious presents itself in our lives, such as unconsciously turning right to head to work when you really want to turn left to go to the store. This is a must-read for anyone who has even the slightest interest in how our mind controls our behaviors by balancing the effects of the conscious and unconscious. The author eloquently provides evidence into each of his statements and justifies them with interesting research. I believe this book deserves a five star rating due to its ability to accurately shed light on the mysterious yet powerful psychological domain we call the unconscious.

Probably the best psychology book I have ever read. It is objective, as it is based upon studies and statistics (which are also quoted), not on the personal opinion and experiences of the writer. Very systematic, covering extremely interesting subjects, written in a scientific manner but at the same time so comprehensive for the layman (and I'm not even a native speaker). I feel that by reading it I gained a new insight about the way I and the people around me operate.

Probably the best psychology book I have ever read. It is objective, as it is based upon studies and statistics (which are also quoted), not on the personal opinion and experiences of the writer. Very systematic, covering extremely interesting subjects, written in a scientific manner but at the same time so comprehensive for the layman (and I'm not even a native speaker). I feel that by reading it I gained a new insight about the way I and the people around me operate.

A very interesting look at research on the unconscious which ends on a very positive and optimistic note. The unconscious, however, can also lead us down some very dark roads in our lives through complexes - our learned negative reflexes and instincts. "Turning the lights on" through self understanding in those dark places, where we habitually and *unconsciously* think the worst, can also lead us to a far better place. Yes, we are overly optimistic - at times - about ourselves and it can be an asset - sometimes. We also need to learn how to understand ourselves when the unconscious takes us down the wrong roads. I don't think this book addressed that enough. As a final note, if you make it through the last chapter and believe that someday you will fly or walk on water, you may need to consult a real psychologist.

Super interesting and masterfully written. I strongly recommend it to those interested in science and who, at the same time, would like to understand a little more about the motivations and human mind in general.

Opens huge new vistas about why people behave in the baffling ways they do (including myself of course!!!). An invaluable aid to consciousness and the author writes in such an accessible and amusing way. I really recommend the book.

I've always suspected that people believe what they want to believe. Suspect no more, here is hard science proof that much of life is a construct and God help those whose conscious mind fails to override unconscious bullying. This is a fascinating read. One tidbit: the mind is hardwired to categorize and it is up to the educated mind to categorize that - obviously, this says quite a lot ... Four stars instead of five because I am afraid to give this book a five for what that might say about me.

theo lee

I like reading Mlodinow's works in general but find this one disappointing. There is significant redundancy with "The Drunkards Walk" for one thing, so I probably should not have purchased and read both. It also does not read like science but instead something like Mlodinow's opinions on how the unconscious works. A lot of the "facts" presented are over simplified and over stated. Fundamental philosophical questions are not addressed like what is consciousness? self? will? etc. Although he includes examples based on damaged areas of the brain he ignores altered states of consciousness or abnormal states associated with mental illness. After bashing Freud he glibly brings Jung into the discussion on occasion without any critique and then does not include any discussion of more modern psychoanalytical psychologists. Reads like a book written by a want-to-be expert.

Prompt shipping by the seller. Book in good condition.

Subliminal is an amazing read. Humorous, interesting, unpretentious. I love Leonard Mlodinows other books as well and would recommend them all!

Ever wonder......... why did I do that?
What swayed the jury?
Survivor?
Raise your awareness of others and self........... read this book.
The book reads better than some novels.
Its hard to put down.
NOT a dumbed down discussion of the unconscious mind.
The authors obviously believes in what he wrote and uses it throughout the book.
Well done!
Well done Leonard Mlodinow

While I haven't been able to stop procrastinating long enough to hear more than the first two pages. I thought the reader sounded kind of boring to listen to. I found the writers interview on coast to coast am inspiring enough to want to buy his work, and maybe the audio way wasn't the right way for me to go. But reading puts me to sleep. I'm sure I will enjoy it once I can get over my procrastination problem.

Who ever thought that a consciously blind person could see with their unconscious mind and can have two fairly different pictures of what they see in their mind. Leonard Mlodinow is really rocking the boat with this book.
Critical thinker Jack

The book is an easy read. It presents the coalescence of a wide range of theories from, Psychoanalysis, through behaviorism and cognitive psychology to elements of neuropsychology and Theory of Mind. The author proposes a new definitions of the unconscious, one vested in phylogenic development as it influences ontology. The author included many personal anecdotes which prompts one to reflect on ones own ontology and recall personal examples that illustrates the points discussed. The book presents insights at a deeper level that popular psychology and offers something for the lay person and the well read. I enjoyed it and intend to revisit the themes for their applicability in my personal and professional life.

I found this book rather boring with too much detail for simple points the author makes. He's a physicist writing biology concepts. I think there's many more books about the subject such as evolutionary psychology by Geoffrey Miller or the Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins