Adam Alter

How do even the smallest environmental cues affect our behavior? How does the world around us—the weather, colors, geography and location—affect our moods and social interactions? Adam Alter offers a groundbreaking look into the complex relationship between environmental features and our thoughts, feelings, and actions. Humans respond emotionally, physically, and mentally to the shifting world around them. The names we assign, the language we use, and the symbols and images we deploy all affect how we behave as well. Alter examines it all, delivering a fascinating overview of why we do what we do. He breaks down our cognitive responses to external influences, showing the effects that are driven by small cues. How are these cues cognitively processed? Where do they reside in our consciousness? Alter offers thoughts on how leaders, policymakers, and smarter organizations can change conditions, and create more cognitively healthy environments—and healthier human beings.