Before You Know It

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What to expect

Random House presents the audiobook edition of Before You Know It by John Bargh, read by George Newbern and with an introduction by the author.

The world’s leading expert on the unconscious mind reveals the hidden mental processes that secretly govern every aspect of our behaviour.

For more than three decades, Dr John Bargh has been conducting revolutionary research into the unconscious mind – not Freud’s dark, malevolent unconscious but the new unconscious, a helpful and powerful part of the mind that we can access and understand through experimental science. Now, Dr Bargh presents an engaging and enlightening tour of the influential psychological forces that are at work as we go about our daily lives – checking a dating app, holding a cup of hot coffee, or getting a flu shot.

Dr Bargh takes you into his labs at New York University and Yale where his ingenious experiments have shown how the unconscious guides our behaviour, goals and motivations in areas like race relations, parenting, business, consumer behaviour and addiction. He reveals the pervasive influence of the unconscious mind in who we choose to date or vote for, what we buy, where we live, how we perform on tests and in job interviews, and much more. Before You Know It is full of surprising and entertaining revelations as well as tricks to help you remember to-do items, shop smarter and sleep better.

Before You Know It will profoundly change the way you understand yourself by introducing you to a fascinating world only recently discovered, the world that exists below the surface of your awareness and yet is the key to unlocking new ways of thinking, feeling and behaving.

‘John Bargh's Before You Know It moves our understanding of the mysteries of human behaviour one giant step forward. A brilliant and convincing book.’ – Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink and David and Goliath

Critics Review

John Bargh's Before You Know It moves our understanding of the mysteries of human behaviour one giant step forward. A brilliant and convincing book.
Malcolm Gladwell, author of 'Blink' and 'David and Goliath'
Lucid, vivid, and entertaining; psychology reconceived through compelling and powerful storytelling.
Gavin Francis, author of 'Adventures in Human Being' and 'Empire Antartica'
This fascinating journey through the inner workings of the human mind reveals how our conscious thoughts and unconscious motives intertwine to shape who we are. An entertaining and intelligent book that will change the way you see yourself and the world around you.
Jonah Berger, author of 'Contagious' and 'Invisible Influence'
[A] sprightly book ... Daniel Kahneman referenced [Bargh] in the popular Thinking Fast and Slow ... A world-leading psychologist ... A useful textbook for anyone with a strong interest in the field.
Sunday Times
This book is a “must read” not only because it is about a fascinating topic – the nature of the unconscious mind – but because it is an engaging and accessible book by the scientist who did the groundbreaking research. Everyone should read it.
Timothy D. Wilson
I predict that this book will be the most important and exciting book in psychology that has been written in the past twenty years. Now Bargh reveals a new science of the unconscious that busts these outdated myths ... These are powerful revelations.
John Gottman, PhD, Professor Emeritus, University of Washington
John Bargh is – without exception, without exaggeration, and without competition – the world's foremost authority on the unconscious mind ... and it is no surprise that he has received virtually every award science can offer. [Before You Know It] is ... a spellbinding tour, written by the undisputed master.
Daniel Gilbert, Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, author of the international bestseller 'Stumbling on Happiness'
Professor John Bargh has been a consistently and systematically amazing social scientist for decades with his insights, observations, studies, and perhaps most important – their implications for the way we live and the aspects of our life that we take for granted... We can expect a fabulous book.
Dan Ariely, PhD, Duke University, author of New York Times bestseller 'Predictably Irrational'

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