Psychologist reviews Atomic Habits by James Clear

The first of a new series where i review books at your request- my attempt here is to give a more nuanced psychological review, there are a lot of 'pop psychology' books out there, some more questionable than others, and some that really need calling out for what they are (plan awful).

Atomic Habits by James Clear is a self-help book that focuses on the power of small, incremental changes in shaping positive habits and breaking bad ones. Clear explains that small habits, when consistently practiced, can lead to significant improvements over time. I quite liked the book, as i discuss in the video there are a number of well established psychological theories which underpin the main ideas (or laws as they are worded in the book). It makes some generalisations and isn't perfect but a lot of self help books are reductive and tend to focus on what the individual has some control over rather than looking at societal problems etc, probably a problem with the genre as a whole rather than just this book.

Instagram @dm_psych_
Business enquiries: [email protected]
-----------------

Dr Dean Marshall (BSc, MSc, PhD, PG Cert, CPsychol) is a Cognitive Psychologist and Chartered member of the British Psychological Society- he graduated with a PhD in Psychology from the University of York in 2021, his thesis focused on the development of probabilistic decision-making, focusing on the conjunction fallacy including using heuristics and biases in social judgements.

His research interests lie mainly in cognitive psychology, specifically decision-making, executive functioning, and problem-solving. Deans teaching and work experience varies, covering music, online education, clinical trials, and experimental psychology.

All views expressed are his own, they do not represent any teaching/research institution Dean is affiliated with.