One of the most consistently recommended lecture series on HN, praised as fascinating, funny and eye-opening about human behavior across many scales.
Topics › Life Sciences, Mind & Health
The best psychology & human behavior videos, according to Hacker News
163 videos about psychology & human behavior that Hacker News commenters keep pointing each other to, ranked by how many separate months they were recommended. Part of Life Sciences, Mind & Health.
Repeatedly called the best way to understand ADHD, and recommended to anyone before commenting on it.
HN recommends it often and strongly as an eye-opening account of marketing psychology and the engineering of consumer society.
Perennially recommended as an inspirational talk for people facing setbacks or choosing a direction, and a source of oft-quoted lines like the brick wall.
HN recommends it as an illuminating, eye-opening long-form take on status, luck and how we judge the successful and unsuccessful.
HN recommends it repeatedly to people struggling with motivation, distraction or phone and internet addiction, as a science-based guide to dopamine.
HN commenters recommend it constantly in threads about advertising, propaganda and manipulation as the origin story of the consumer society.
HN uses it in discussions of pay, management, and motivation as the standard short explanation of autonomy, mastery and purpose.
Linked in threads about meritocracy, careers and startups as a reminder that luck shapes who ends up on top.
HN people with ADHD or ADHD-affected relatives share it as an authoritative, practical talk that helped some seek diagnosis.
Several HN commenters credit the lecture series with helping them through depression or personal collapse and recommend it as long-form learning.
HN recommends it widely in advice threads on depression, habits, and goal setting as a funny, memorable way to see what to do by seeing what not to do.
Recommended as an empathetic, non-judgmental analysis of incel radicalization and how to counter it.
HN commenters send people to it as the primary source for NVC, recommended for relationships, compassion and difficult conversations.
HN regards it as a classic to revisit every few years for improving decisions and self-awareness.
Recommended in HN threads on gender gaps in tech as a well-researched look at how gender differences and professional choices may arise.
Recommended in vegetarian and animal-welfare threads as an introduction to the psychology behind how we treat animals differently.
Frequently recommended in threads on learning, the 10,000 hours rule and deliberate practice as a clearer account of how expertise develops.
HN commenters recommend it as an entertaining and informative explanation of how stress affects health.
HN recommends it as a thoughtful, honest look at the causes of addiction and depression, and as a deeper Mate interview than most.
HN links it constantly in threads on social media, polarization and outrage as the canonical explanation of why angry content wins.
The standard link whenever someone claims to be a visual learner or learning styles come up, with sources listed in the description.
HN cites it heavily in diversity and academia debates as an intellectual analysis of the truth versus social justice conflict.
HN cites it as a concise, well-illustrated explanation of traffic flow, in threads on congestion, self-driving cars and driving habits.
Commenters credit it with changing how they handle plans and recommend it as a short, sourced talk.
Recommended in moderation and deplatforming debates as a case for engagement and compassion over exclusion.
Recommended as a funny, empathetic take on procrastination and the origin of the life calendar concept.
HN commenters recommend it for its take on managing young employees and on how technology and approval-seeking affect behavior.
HN recommends it as an entertaining and eye-opening look at the irrational psychology behind language preferences, though some note it is not scientifically precise.
HN points to it constantly in threads on inner monologue, visual versus verbal thinking and communication as the classic, entertaining demonstration that minds work differently.
Shared in heated-discussion threads as a short, witty take on why extremism is appealing.
HN commenters most often cite it as a thorough, well-sourced debunking of The Bell Curve and of popular IQ claims.
HN commenters point lonely people to it as a moving, comforting piece of art about getting comfortable with solitude.
Pointed to repeatedly in gender-in-tech threads, especially around the Google memo, as a science-based treatment of sex differences.
HN commenters bring it up in threads about online mobs and cancellation as a relevant talk by a journalist who interviewed shamed people.
HN commenters link it as the quickest memorable illustration of listening versus problem-solving, and as shorthand in threads on empathy and support.
HN recommends it as a short, clear explanation of why people avoid saying things explicitly and how common knowledge works socially and politically.
Commenters call it a must-watch, funny and entertaining demonstration that morality has natural roots in animals.
HN commenters cite it whenever a thread involves ignored warnings, shortcuts or routine risk, as the clearest introduction to the concept.
HN people cite it when discussing perceived randomness, luck and player experience in games, and say more designers should heed it.
HN commenters quote it for the line that the opposite of addiction is connection, and recommend it as a more plausible account of addiction than the standard model.
HN recommends it as the standard talk on how too many options lead to paralysis and second-guessing.
Recommended as a short, clear explanation of growth versus fixed mindset.
Recommended as a classic documentary on military training and the psychology of going to war.
HN commenters recommend it for the finding that idea exchange and connectivity drive productivity and wealth, which they apply to cities, offices and online communities.
HN fans say it offers value even to atheists by interpreting Bible stories as psychological and evolutionary archetypes, and some credit it with helping them through depression.
HN commenters link it as the clearest short explanation of regression to the mean, especially for how it misleads people about feedback and statistics.
HN cites it as the classic demonstration of survivorship and confirmation bias in betting, trading and prediction claims.
Cited as the origin of the 'culture/philosophy as operating system' metaphor and as a quick introduction to McKenna's ideas.
HN recommends it as a clear explanation of why generations think differently and why IQ scores have risen.
HN recommends it as a short, accessible intro to Bayesian reasoning and priors.
Recommended as a one-hour substitute for the book's opening chapters for those short on time.
HN recommends Sapolsky as an exceptional storyteller and points to this lecture on the biology of human behavior and violence.
HN points to it whenever analog versus digital clocks come up, as an idea that changed how commenters think about time perception.
HN commenters point to it as a quick way to get the key concepts of the book and as an introduction to leadership thinking.
HN commenters recommend it as a comprehensive talk on depression, and one says it helped them through a bad period.
HN recommends it as a thoughtful critique of the great-leader-as-jerk myth in threads on difficult bosses.
Recommended as part of a long lecture series on psychology, complementing biology lectures, and named when HN asks for the best lecture series.
Shared in loneliness threads as a well-sourced, empathetic explanation, including for people struggling with it.
HN cites it whenever money as an incentive comes up, as evidence that rewards can backfire for creative white-collar work.
HN uses it as a go-to short critique of mandatory positivity in workplaces, startups and corporate culture.
HN uses it constantly as the classic demonstration that attention is selective, in threads on driving, motorcycles, AI and perception.
Recommended as a quick, memorable explanation of how to support someone in pain without making it about yourself.
Recommended as a worthwhile real-world experiment whenever trolley problems or moral dilemmas come up.
HN commenters recommend it as a thoughtful take on doing gamification and game design well.
Recommended in habit and motivation threads for its simple anchor-then-tiny-action recipe.
HN commenters recommend it when asked how to learn better or keep improving.
HN commenters share it as a short, practical resource for people who struggle with small talk.
HN uses it to argue that systems rather than bad apples drive cruelty, and for its section on how anonymity changes behavior.
HN people recommend it for its simple, powerful idea of marginal adjustments and its usefulness for tackling big projects.
Used as vivid evidence of crow intelligence and animal physical reasoning in discussions of cognition.
Cited in threads about perceived time as a good, detailed explanation of the effect.
A go-to short explanation of how movements start and why early followers matter.
HN commenters use it as supporting material in arguments about IQ and the g-factor view of intelligence.
Recommended as a clear demonstration of confirmation bias and the value of trying to break your own hypothesis.
HN recommends it as an accessible way to understand why people across the political spectrum disagree and to better understand opposing views.
Cited in threads on motorcycle and cyclist safety to explain why drivers look and still miss them.
HN uses it as the expert primer on burnout that dispels common misconceptions.
HN cites it as one of the best TED talks and as evidence that people adapt to and come to like outcomes they cannot change.
Recommended as a solid introduction to personality and IQ research, and cited as the source for factor-analysis claims about personality and intelligence.
Recommended as a good primer on what IQ scores mean and their limited effect on life outcomes.
Recommended as a convincing counterargument to the widely repeated idea of the uncanny valley.
HN commenters call it enlightening for understanding the emotional challenges of gifted kids, especially those who struggle later in school or college.
HN points to it for an accessible explanation of why wealth and creative output are so unevenly distributed.
Recommended as one of the best bridges between mind and computation, and as a sample of Bach's thinking on AI and philosophy.
HN cites it in LLM randomness and number-picking threads as evidence that humans are also biased and predictable when asked for random numbers.
Used in threads on bias and social engineering as a vivid example of how bystanders treat different thieves.
HN uses it again and again as shorthand for the idea that resentment of unfair pay and inequality is built into primates, including us.
Offered as a persuasion success story in threads about polarization and online toxicity.
Praised as one of the great non-technical talks, appearing in best-talk lists.
Shared in political threads as a timeless warning about divisive manipulation and demagogues.
Pointed to as a well-cited hour on IQ and genetics whenever intelligence and heritability come up.
Used to illustrate predictable irrationality, such as defaults and the effect of the middle option among three choices.
Recommended in threads about culture and time orientation as an accessible presentation of Zimbardo's framework.
HN shares it as a compact explanation of how hierarchy and stress affect health, pointing to the longer full lecture.
HN brings it up in dating app threads as a real-world illustration of how hard Tinder is for men.
HN recommends it as an insightful catalog of the biases that drive bad decisions, and links it often in Munger memorials and self-improvement threads.
HN brings it up in threads about impostor syndrome, confidence, and body language as an interesting talk on faking it until you feel it.
HN cites it in MBTI threads as an attempt to link personality types to measurable brain activity patterns.
HN cites it in threads on gender gaps in tech and law, though some commenters point to a longer Peterson video for the full argument.
HN mentions it when discussing how believing stress is harmful affects health and anxiety.
HN points to it as proof that people can leave extremist movements, and as a model of de-radicalization through compassion.
HN commenters recommend it in threads on happiness and well-being as a clear account of why memory and experience of happiness diverge.
HN commenters cite it for the social theory that reasoning evolved as a collaborative activity, and one lists it as a favorite video.
HN offers it as a short, light introduction to carnism and the language bias around eating animals.
HN uses it as a vivid example of tacit knowledge and skill acquisition, where the brain eventually abstracts away the complexity.
HN cites it in threads on jobs, automation and hiring when arguing about IQ and employability.
HN commenters cite it for Pinker's analysis of profanity and of why talking about taboo words differs from using them.
HN links it in threads about silence and quiet rooms, as a good first-hand look at the anechoic chamber that debunks the madness myth.
HN recommends it as an interesting look at the psychology research behind bias in hiring and performance reviews.
HN commenters point to it as an accessible interview with a leading figure in the field, especially for toxo and baboon social behavior.
HN points to it as a short source on operant conditioning in games, loot boxes and engagement loops, with design alternatives.
Recommended in Ask HN threads on motivation and internet addiction as an accessible explanation of why screen time dulls drive.
HN points to it as the short cliff's-notes version of the essay and as a charming introduction to The School of Life.
HN cites it for Ariely's finding that people cheat a little without feeling guilty.
HN uses it as a handy reference whenever a thread needs to point at survivorship bias.
HN refers to it as a vivid first-person account of anendophasia whenever inner monologues come up.
HN commenters point to Barkley's talks as a respected clinician's view of ADHD as a spectrum of executive function problems.
HN people point to it as the talk version of his book on innovation, and for his brief discussion of liquid networks.
HN commenters mention it as an accessible introduction to the theory of constructed emotions.
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