Hacking the Human Mind
Synopsis
'A book for the ages' – Rory Sutherland, author of Alchemy
How did the world's best brands get so big?
They had more than great products – they hacked the human mind.
This book reveals their secrets.
Richard Shotton, author of The Choice Factory and The Illusion of Choice combines with experienced CEO and business thought leader MichaelAaron Flicker to take a look at the behavioural science underpinning the success of seventeen leading brands, including Apple, Dyson, Red Bull, and Starbucks.
What is it about Amazon that pulls us back again and again?
How does a two-minute wait make Guinness taste better?
Why do we pay more for water than we know it’s worth?
The answers are all in this book. Moving beyond theory, Hacking the Human Mind is a practical, accessible and engaging guide, filled with techniques to help you level up your marketing.
You too can make your brand the one people reach for – without them ever really knowing why.
'This is a great book. Practical, generous and insightful' – Seth Godin, bestselling author of This is Marketing
Details
About MichaelAaron Flicker
MichaelAaron Flicker is the founder and president of XenoPsi Ventures, a brand incubator firm providing financial, marketing and intellectual capital to a growing portfolio of companies. He has worked with many of the country's leading brands including Nike, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Chubb, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, ACE Insurance and Evan Williams Bourbon.
As a thought leader at the intersection of business consulting, advertising, and technology, MichaelAaron is regularly writing and speaking at industry events and is regularly featured in publications such as Advertising Age, MediaPost, VentureBeat, and Chief Marketer. He is co-author of the book Hacking the Human Mind (2025).
About Richard Shotton
Richard Shotton began his career in marketing twenty-one years ago before setting up his own company, Astroten. Astroten help clients such as Google, Facebook, Sky, BrewDog and Mondelez apply findings from behavioural science to their marketing.
Richard is the author of The Choice Factory which explains how behavioural science can solve business challenges. The Choice Factory was voted best sales and marketing book of the year at the Business Book Awards. It was a #1 bestseller on Amazon and is now available in 15 languages. He built upon this book in The Illusion of Choice (2023) and is the co-author of Hacking the Human Mind (2025).
In 2021 Richard was made an honorary lifetime fellow of the IPA and an associate of the Moller Institute, Churchill College, Cambridge University.
Reviews
“Superb marketing is both an art and a science. I know of no better proof than in the engaging and illuminating content of this book, which shows how some of our most successful brands simultaneously mastered each to great effect.”Robert Cialdini, New York Times bestselling author, Influence and Pre-Suasion
“This is a great book. Practical, generous and insightful.”Seth Godin, bestselling author of This is Marketing and All Marketers are Liars, entrepreneur and teacher
“Shotton and Flicker unpack how the smartest brands use behavioral psychology to genuinely shift consumer preference. Clear, engaging, and refreshingly practical, this book belongs in the hands of anyone serious about understanding what truly moves people.”Nir Eyal, bestselling author of Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products
“This is a book for the ages. The authors have ingeniously used behavioural science to reverse-engineer the psychological genius that lies hidden behind many of the world's greatest brands.”Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman at Ogilvy UK, and author of Alchemy
Media enquiries
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