My New Book, Why Elephants Don't Listen: 25 Psychological Principles Behind Human Behavior

Hi everyone, I’m Zhichao Wei. I’d like to introduce a popular-psychology book I’ve written: Why Elephants Don’t Listen: 25 Psychological Principles Behind Human Behavior.

Psychology is an incredibly sprawling field. It seems to have researchers doing just about everything. In one book, you might read about psychologists interpreting dreams or working with hypnosis; in another, you might find someone studying how the human mind evolved. Some psychologists work closely with biologists, looking at the relationship between genes and personality; others team up with economists to study what goes on in our minds when we deal with money.

So it’s understandable if people get confused: How come psychology has all this random stuff in it? Do you have a main storyline? Are there some core psychological principles that are essential reading—things we can’t get around if we want to understand ourselves and human nature?

That’s also a question I’ve been thinking about for the past few years. And the result of that thinking has come together in this book, Why Elephants Don’t Listen. Drawing on what I’ve learned and thought about over 20 years of studying and researching psychology, I distilled the most essential, fundamental, and important discoveries in psychology today into 25 underlying principles. I think these 25 principles will dramatically refresh your understanding of human nature.

For example, we often hear one person say we should trust our intuition, while another says we should think everything through three times. Which is actually more accurate: intuitive judgment or careful deliberation? The principle of “Consciousness Brings Up the Rear,” introduced in the book, shows you how consciousness and the unconscious should work together to make our decisions more precise.

For another example, physiological terms like dopamine, endorphins, oxytocin, and adrenaline have been making the rounds lately. You may have heard of some of them and know that all kinds of chemicals in the body can affect the mind. The book’s principle “Hormones Know How to Adapt” explains in detail the patterns by which some important hormones regulate behavior.

I hope these twenty-five underlying psychological principles will be 25 seeds. When the conditions are right, they’ll take root and sprout in your mind, growing into towering trees. Together, this forest will form a complete system of core psychological knowledge.

If psychology were a grand drama, then Why Elephants Don’t Listen would be a viewing guide to help you follow its main storyline. Happy reading! See you!

Book link