Social Intelligence

Daniel Goleman is the author of the bestsellers Emotional Intelligence and Working with Emotional Intelligence. He received his PhD from Harvard and reported on the brain and behavioral sciences for the New York Times for twelve years. He was awarded the American Psychological Association's Lifetime Achievement Award and is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Emotional Intelligence was an international phenomenon, appearing on the New York Times bestseller list for over a year and selling more than 5 million copies worldwide. Now, once again, Daniel Goleman has written a groundbreaking synthesis of the latest findings in biology and brain science, revealing that we are 'wired to connect' and the surprisingly deep impact of our relationships on every aspect our lives.

Far more than we are consciously aware, our daily encounters with parents, spouses, bosses, and even strangers, shape our brains and affect cells throughout our bodies, down to the level of our genes - for good or ill. In Social Intelligence, Daniel Goleman explores an emerging new science with startling implications for our interpersonal world. Its most fundamental discovery: we are designed for sociability, constantly engaged in a 'neural ballet' that connects us brain-to-brain with those around us.

Goleman explains the surprising accuracy of first impressions, the basis of charisma and emotional power, the complexity of sexual attraction, and how we detect lies. He describes the 'dark side' of social intelligence, from narcissism to Machiavellianism and psychopathy. He also reveals our astonishing capacity for 'mindsight', as well as the tragedy of those, like autistic children, whose mindsight is impaired.

In this book Daniel Goleman delivers his most heartening news with powerful conviction: we humans have a built-in bias toward empathy, cooperation and altruism - provided we develop the social intelligence to nurture these capacities in ourselves and others.

[Goleman] uses the emerging science of neuro-sociology to show how priming our brains for meaningful connectivity with others can make the world a better place... FascinatingDaniel Goleman understands people. He has a keen appreciation for the scientific basis of why we are the way we are - why some of us are natural flirts while others of us have a hard time getting a second date; why some of us are wired to make a great first impression at a job interview while others are useless at navigating office politics.A rich compendium of recent developments in developmental and social psychology and the burgeoning field of social neuroscience... There is a great deal in Goleman's book to interest and inform the general reader who may still think Freud is the last word on the science of human relationships.An easy and enjoyable read... An easy introduction to all sorts of new areas in psychology. It should improve your dinner-party conversational skills and provide useful snippets for any presentation.