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The Winner Effect
- Author
- Ian Robertson
- Narrator
- Ian Robertson
- Publisher
- Bloomsbury Publishing
- Publish Date
- 8 January 2026
- Run Time
- 10 hours 21 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
- Genre
- Popular psychology, Psychology
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What to expect
What makes a winner?
Why do some succeed both in life and in business, and others fail?
The ‘winner effect’ is a term used in biology to describe how an animal that has won a few fights against weak opponents is much more likely to win later bouts against stronger contenders. As Ian Robertson reveals, it applies to humans, too. Success changes the chemistry of the brain, making you more focused, smarter, more confident and more aggressive. And the more you win, the more you will go on to win. But the downside is that winning can become physically addictive.
By understanding what the mental and physical changes are that take place in the brain of a ‘winner’, how they happen, and why they affect some people more than others, Robertson explains what makes a winner or a loser – and how we can use the answers to these questions to understand better the behaviour of our business colleagues, employees, family and friends.
Critics Review
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Compelling stories combine with cutting-edge science to show why coming first is not the same as being a real winner - engrossing
Oliver James, author of Affluenza
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A compelling, vivid and instructive story of how we are empowered and how we are disempowered and how we succeed and how we fail - I really enjoyed it - a must read
Raymond Tallis
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Fascinating ... he also has an attractive anti-determinism in his approach, because of his belief that our basic behaviour patterns are eminently changeable, not just by events but also, if we try to understand, by ourselves: the approach one would expect from a clinical psychologist
Dominic Lawson, Sunday Times
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His book engagingly relates the nuances of why and how we win, and the pitfalls of getting juiced up on dopamine in extreme success and hungering for adulation and worship
Irish Times
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What does it take to be a winner; to be successful and achieve at an optimal level? Professor Robertson has masterfully synthesized cutting edge social, cognitive, and developmental psychology, as well ?as neuroscience with fascinating stories of notable people in the public eye to answer this question. Thoroughly researched and engagingly written by an international scholar, once you begin reading ?this book it will be difficult to put down. Whatever your profession, this remarkable book will most assuredly resonate with you
John B. Arden PhD, author of Rewire Your Brain
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Ian Robertson
- Narrator
- Ian Robertson
- Duration
- 10 hours 21 minutes
- Release Date
- 8 January 2026
- ISBN
- 9781526693747
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Bloomsbury Publishing
- Genre
- Popular psychology, Psychology
Synopsis
Bloomsbury presents The Winner Effect written and read by Ian RobertsonWhat makes a winner? Why do some succeed both in life and in business, and others fail? The ‘winner effect’ is a term used in biology to describe how an animal that has won a few fights against weak opponents is much more likely to win later bouts against stronger contenders. As Ian Robertson reveals, it applies to humans, too. Success changes the chemistry of the brain, making you more focused, smarter, more confident and more aggressive. And the more you win, the more you will go on to win. But the downside is that winning can become physically addictive.By understanding what the mental and physical changes are that take place in the brain of a ‘winner’, how they happen, and why they affect some people more than others, Robertson explains what makes a winner or a loser – and how we can use the answers to these questions to understand better the behaviour of our business colleagues, employees, family and friends.
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