React - Harness Your Animal Brain

This books delves into the psychology of motivation, focussing on our ‘animal brain’, the part responsible for habits, instincts and desires. Packed with information, humour and practical tips, React explores the building blocks of behaviour and reveals how we can take control of our impulses to work for, rather than against, us.

How can I tell what I really want?

How can I stop doing things I don’t enjoy?

How do random rewards control our behaviour?

How can I avoid doomscrolling?

In this book, Professor Robert West and his son, Jamie, once again delve into the psychology of motivation, this time focussing on our ‘animal brain’, the part responsible for habits, instincts and desires.

Packed with information, humour and practical tips, React explores the basic building blocks of behaviour and reveals how we can take control of our impulses so they work for, rather than against, us.

Robert West is Professor Emeritus of Health Psychology at University College London (UCL) and an Associate of UCL’s Centre for Behaviour Change. He is a former Editor-in-Chief of the scientific journal Addiction, and he has published more than 900 scholarly works including books on behaviour change and addiction. Jamie West is a writer, performer and musician. He holds a BA in English from UCL and an MA in Creative Writing from Birkbeck University.