Recommended books by Associated Researchers

Johanne S. K. Nedergaard: PhD student at the Department of Linguistics, Cognitive Science and Semiotics.

Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language by Gretchen McCulloch.

This is an extremely entertaining book about how being on the internet has changed the way people use language. It puts a spotlight on how swiftly our grammar and lexicon can change, and makes you realise that you already understand these new rules without even being aware of it.

Arnault-Quentin Vermillet: Phd student at the Interacting Minds Centre and the Department of Clinical Medicine.

The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow.

It is a very critical account of common narratives of the evolution of human societies, their ideological blindness, and their political motivations. At the same time, the authors outline their own "new history of Humanity", based on archeological and anthropological evidence, and with their own, acknowledged, ideological bias (Graeber is pretty famous for his anarchist views). In offensively short terms (the book is 700 pages): Humans are, and always have been, political beings, hence they've always arranged themselves in arbitrarily complex societies. They like to experiment, tinker and goof around, so these power structures are transient. They may change or collapse depending on time, environment, encountering other societies, or just for fun.

Even if the line between speculation and scientific investigation is not always clear, it was a very intellectually stimulating read. In cognitive science, there is a tendency to aim for simple evolutionary explanations to complex dynamic behaviour. But most often, evolutionary arguments are mere speculation, and at best they are (likely untestable) hypotheses. Yet, they carry some authoritative weight and are easily mistaken for facts.

In my opinion, the main interest of the book for cognitive scientists lies in:

(1) Questioning the history, social context, and political use of evolutionary theories in order to understand why they are so persistent in the scientific landscape, despite adding little to no value to a scientific claim.

(2) Realising that you can have interesting theories and hypothesis on the complex social behaviour of humans without relying on pseudo-evolutionary assumptions.

Nina Nielsen: Research assistant at the Department of Management, Aarhus University.

A book that opened my eyes to how truly fascinating our subconscious mind is was the book Incognito - The Secret Lives of the Brain by David Eagleman. Really a great (and fairly short) read for everyone interested in learning about the human brain and how it shapes behaviour without us even noticing.

I also really enjoyed The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, in which he explains everything about habit formation from a personal, managerial, and marketing point of view.

Unnikrishnan Radhakrishnan: Ph.D. student at the Department of Business Development and Technology

"Handbook of Psychophysiology" by Cambridge University Press, edited by Cacioppo, Tassinary, and Berntson. It is an accessible and invaluable source of knowledge for researchers interested in using EEG, ECG, eye tracking, GSR, and other forms of biosensors in their work.

Lisa Stickel: PhD fellow at the Department of Management.

I found the book "Predictably Irrational" by Dan Ariely very inspiring. In contrast to many other books, this one tends to look behind the scenes, and lets us think along issues that would never make it into an article.

Nikoline Bach Hyldelund: PhD fellow at the Department of Food Science

Sensory Evaluation of Food, by Harry T. Lawless & Hildegarde Heymann

Camile Maria Costa Correa: Postdoc at the Department of Food Science

Principles of Neuroscience, by Eric Kandel (but I am biased) and The Drunkard's Walk, by Leonard Mlodinow (this one is less academic, but still very interesting).

Arndis Simonsen, Postdoc at the Interacting Minds Centre

Statistical Rethinking by McElreath is a great way to get in to Bayesian statistics and modelling using R.

Daina Crafa: Assistant professor at the Interacting Minds Centrer

Phenomenology of Perception by French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty is among my favorite academic books. As scientists, we know a lot about human psychology and neurobiology, but we are still trying to understand what goes on “inside the head”. Phenomenology of Perception offers a detailed examination of some of the experiences of being human that continue to elude empirical measurement.

Alexandra Regina Kratschmer: Associate Professor at the Dept. of Linguistics

I just read Annette Markham's "Life Online" from 1998, and even if it has been written two decades ago, it still contains interesting observations on internet behavior, but also on ethnographic methods. I also very much enjoyed the popular mediation book "Everybody lies. Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are" by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz (2017).

Ethan Weed: Associate Professor of Linguistics

I recently read "Proust and the Squid" by Maryanne Wolf. It's maybe more pop science than academic, but it does a great job of illustrating why research on reading is exciting and relevant.  

Jessica Barker: Junior Fellow, Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies

Somewhere between pop science and academia, Richard Dawkins' The Selfish Gene is a well written introduction to the logic behind behavioral ecology by one of the early big names in the field. For a more academic overview, Davies et al.'s Introduction to Behavioral Ecology is great.  

Joshua Brain: former Assistant Lab Manager, Cognition and Behavior Lab

Just one book is tricky...I'll pick a book that I anticipate is unread by most researchers, namely Harry Heft's 'Ecological Psychology in Context' (2001). The book describes and evaluates psychology's lineage from William James, through Edwin Holt, to James Gibson and Roger Barker, before extending their respective ideas and theories. A very interesting book that espouses important, if not challenging, viewpoints. 

Riccardo Fusaroli: Associate Professor, Department of Communication and Culture.

Only one? Darn! Then it should be "Statistical Rethinking" by Richard McElreath, a tour de force into what we really mean when we do statistics and how to do it right.

(I've also found "Darwin's unfinished symphony" by K. Laland and "Scale" by Geoffrey West very thought-provoking.)

Dan Nguyen: former PhD Student, Department of Economics and Business Economics.

Daniel Kahneman’s “Thinking, fast and slow” from 2011 is a great book introducing his work with Amos Tversky, which was been awarded the Nobel prize. Basically, it questions the assumptions made in economic rationality. In the book, he proposes two systems of thinking: one which is fast (driven by emotions and heuristics) and another which is slow (driven by rationality and consciousness). The book discusses how these two systems interact and is a great layman’s introduction to concepts such as loss aversion and prospect theory