You are remarkable: You experience a vast range of thoughts and emotions, including falling in love, remembering last Tuesday, contemplating the meaning of life, and calculating complex equations. And you can carry out an almost infinite range of behaviours, such as sauntering down the street, juggling tennis balls, singing in falsetto or riding a unicycle.

Psychology is the study of these things: of how we think, feel and behave, of what makes us special as individuals, and of what we have in common with our fellow human beings.

Psychologist, bestselling author and YouTube star Richard Wiseman argues that psychology matters in five key ways: it boosts critical thinking, reveals the hidden workings of the mind, debunks popular and harmful myths about human behaviour, provides vital material to inform debates in politics, education, medicine and other fields, and can be used to improve ourselves and our societies.

If you’ve ever wondered why we often fail to see what’s right before our eyes, how to spot a liar, about the secret to happiness, or how to create a more altruistic society, then this book is for you.