Psychology 101: The 101 Ideas, Concepts and Theories that Have Shaped Our World

by Adrian Furnham

Psychologists have always shone a torch, and often a spotlight, into many dark corners of the human mind. They study everything, from art preferences to altruism, coaching to criminality, jokes and humour to justice and honesty, as well as sex differences, schizophrenia and sociopathy.
Psychology can offer clear descriptions and explanations for all sort of phenomena. More importantly, psychological research can improve lives in a multitude of ways; many applied psychologists - e.g. clinical, educational, counselling and work psychologists – have the primary aim of making people more happy and better able to identify and realise their full potential.
Psychology 101 offers bite-size articles of psychological science from Adrian Furnham, a seasoned psychologist with a broad range of expertise. This book is the essential guide for anyone with an interest - either academic, professional or general - in demystifying and understanding the fascinating world of psychological history, theories, issues and beliefs.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction

480 pages, Paperback

Published February 9, 2021

About the author

Adrian Furnham (born 3 February 1953) is a South African-born British organisational and applied psychologist, management expert and Professor of Psychology at University College London. In addition to his academic roles, he is a consultant on organizations.

Furnham was educated at the London School of Economics where he obtained a distinction in an MSc Econ., and at Oxford University where he completed a doctorate (D.Phil) in 1981. He has subsequently earned a D.Sc (1991) and D.Litt (1995) degree. Previously a lecturer in Psychology at Pembroke College, Oxford, he has been Professor of Psychology at University College London since 1992. He has lectured widely abroad and held scholarships and visiting professorships at, amongst others, the University of New South Wales, the University of the West Indies, the University of Hong Kong and the University of KwaZulu-Natal. He has also been a Visiting Professor of Management at Henley Management College. He has recently been made Adjunct Professor of Management at the Norwegian School of Management (2009).

Adrian FurnhamHe has written over 700 scientific papers and 57 books including The Protestant Work Ethic (1990) Culture Shock (1994), The New Economic Mind (1995), Personality at Work (1994), The Myths of Management (1996), The Psychology of Behaviour at Work (1997), The Psychology of Money (1998), The Psychology of Culture Shock (2001)The Incompetent Manager (2003), The Dark Side of Behaviour at Work (2004), The People Business (2005) Personality and Intellectual Competence (2005) Management Mumbo-Jumbo (2006) Head and Heart Management (2007) The Psychology of Physical Attraction (2007) The Body Beautiful (2007) Personality and Intelligence at Work (2008) Management Intelligence (2008) Dim Sum Management (2008) The Economic Socialisation of Children (2008) 50 Psychology Ideas you really need to know (2009) The Elephant in the Boardroom: The Psychology of Leadership Derailment (2009).

Reviews

[Kamila · Rating 1 out of 5]

O rajuniu. Dotarłam do końca audiobooka i wystawiam ocenę z perspektywy całości. Psychologiczne mydło i powidło żeby nie powiedzieć że gó...no z marcepanem.
Mądrości nt. psychologii na poziomie "naukowcy mówią że masło jest zdrowe, naukowcy mówią że masło jest niezdrowe, naukowcy mówią że masło to tłuszcz, naukowcy mówią że masło nie zaszkodzi jeśli będziesz jeść je z umiarem
Niektóre zawarte tu mądrości mnie powaliły, ale nie w pozytywnym tego słowa znaczeniu
W skrócie - nie polecam - strata czasu

[Oliwia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dno i wodorosty

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A few years ago I read Adrian Furnham's book Psychology: 50 Ideas You Really Need to Know, and it remains on my bookshelf and is used as a reference book if I want a quick refresher about a certain theory or idea.

So I was looking forward to reading this. And I'm not disappointed. It's well written, easy to read, and engaging.

For people who have an interest in psychology but no previous knowledge, this book is understandable and will open your eyes on subjects that we often personally view as "common sense". For readers who are familiar with the subject, it covers a wide range of topics, many not in the 50 Psychology Ideas book, or explored in a different way.

Reading this book is a good way of learning how the study of psychology can be applied to everyday life, exploring ideas on alcoholism, lying, money, morality, office politics, persuasion, queuing, tipping, tolerance and many others.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in psychology and understanding human behaviour..
This is another book that will remain on my bookshelf (albeit my virtual one, as I have a kindle copy!) for years to come.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A few years ago I read Adrian Furnham's book Psychology: 50 Ideas You Really Need to Know. It remains on my bookshelf and is used as a reference book if I want a quick refresher about a certain theory or idea.

So I looked forward to reading this. And I wasn't disappointed. It's well written, easy to read, and engaging.

For people who have an interest in psychology but no previous knowledge, this book is understandable and will open your eyes on subjects that we often personally view as "common sense". For readers who are familiar with the subject, it covers a wide range of topics, many not in the 50 Psychology Ideas book, or explored in a different way.

Reading this book is a good way of learning how the study of psychology can be applied to everyday life, exploring ideas on alcoholism, lying, money, morality, office politics, persuasion, queuing, tipping, tolerance and many more.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in psychology and understanding human behaviour..
This is another book that will remain on my bookshelf (albeit my virtual one, as I have a kindle copy!) for years to come.

[Charlie Bury · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adrian Furnham is the author of 50 IDEAS YOU REALLY NEED TO KNOW: PSYCHOLOGY published by Quercus in 2008. His new book, PSYCHOLOGY 101, expands on that knowledge, expounding the latest theories and effectively summarising their key points.

In each of the 101 articles, Furnham unfastens the complex knot of the human mind and its vast phenomena. Perfect for dipping into at random and getting hooked on a new topic – with a list of salient references at the end of each section for further reading. Curiosity can welcomely be shared with family and friends too, since there’s plenty of collaborative opportunities with this book: Furnham devotes a good portion of it to the study of personalities and how we might best interact with each other in relationships. Note, do not just rely on common sense – that’s too often the stance of the ignorant.

The book should, in turn, inspire empathy in the reader, who will be more vigilant of another’s feelings – what is termed mental health literacy (MHL) – and therefore more emotionally intelligent (EQ). Such MHL will have a very real effect on your outlook in life, a necessary step for taking more responsibility for how other people are feeling. Not that Furnham sets out with a mission to change people. But he does realise that our education of psychology is vital to our understanding of each other, and he thus presents a thoroughly well-researched and entertaining ‘textbook’. The result should be that we, the ordinary non-academic reader, get closer to that empathy which the therapist no doubt has for their patient.

It’s not a recommendation to go out and label your friends, however. No science is complete, including social sciences. It is not a dogmatic creed either, and certain profiles should be applied to each other with sensitivity and caution. In many cases, observation of the facts of human behaviour are still open to endless interpretation. Furnham is simply laying those facts that we do know bare. Undoubtedly, he has chosen which facts as most important, meaning the knowledgeable reader may differ in opinion where I cannot. Needless to say, the book succeeds in authoritatively displaying the tried and tested theories. This is Psychology 101.

P.S. In an article on psychological myths debunked, Furnham reveals that playing Mozart to your baby will not prematurely boost their intelligence. Sorry …

[Mati 'Matimajczyta' · Rating 1 out of 5]

I expected an interesting book that would help me deepen my understanding of psychology and organize my knowledge. The idea of presenting 101 concepts to illustrate how the world has developed sounded intriguing. As an audiobook, it was quite enjoyable to listen to, but honestly, I forgot about it rather quickly. I read it in November 2024, and now, writing this review in February 2025, I realized I barely remembered it—which says a lot. If a book doesn’t evoke any emotions, whether positive or negative, it means it didn’t offer enough insightful elements to surprise me or make me reflect. Much of the content repeated ideas from other psychology books, so it didn’t engage me as much as I had hoped.

[Emily Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great introduction into psychology. I loved how the book dedicated a chapter to each topic, allowing for a wide variety to be covered. This also enabled the reader to skip chapters/topics there were not interested in. I found the chapters on OCD, personality disorders, and vocational choice and guidance particularly fascinating. Additionally, the chapter 'myths about psychology' was quite eye-opening. It just goes to show how important it is to read articles and books that are backed by research, rather than believing everything you hear.

[thesmellofoldbooks · Rating 1 out of 5]

Outdated. First chapter I read from the book was Autism and Aspergers one. Despite having been taken out of the DSM-5 in 2013, this book still views them as seperate and gives very little information about the "spectrum" part of ASD. Only the stereotypical knowledge we use to create Autistic characters in TV shows. I had such expectations after the reviews and am left disappointed

[Wieczna Piwonia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kategoria: mydło i powidło.

101 pojęć dobranych chyba wg tego, co było w popularnych tygodnikach w ostatnim kwartale. Psychologia pozytywna i astrologia, anoreksja i dysonans poznawczy, coaching i różnice narodowe. Nadaje się do szybkiego przekartkowania tylko. Nie wiem też, jak z aktualnością, dużo źródeł z ub. wieku jeszcze, a przy depresji pierwszy wymieniony sposób leczenia to sport.

[Harry Augustus Aboud · Rating 4 out of 5]

While informative and somewhat fascinating, I felt the author of this book had very basic explanations for topics that require more in depth analysis and explanation. That being said, the point of the book is big topics in bite size amounts so ultimately it did serve its intended purpose.

[Jessie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found little to no value from checking this book out. It reads more like an encyclopedia, so that was disappointing. I picked through to the subjects I was interested in but even found those to be lacking.

[Maimoon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brief yet insightful
Recommended for someone who wants learn some basics about psychology.

[Katarzyna Mikołajczyk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zaczęło się fajnie, ale jakoś potem siadło.
Może gdyby to było 50 pojęć...?

[Yvonne Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the quotations and perspectives given before every topic.
A layman will find this book a good glimpse on psychology.

[v · Rating 4 out of 5]

explained simply and clearly, though some new ideas introduced could be further elaborated on rather than just leaving it (at the end of the chapter). overall is a good starting point to learning a bit more about how people work