Good with Humans: The Neuroscience of What Makes Us Tick and What Ticks Us Off

Summary

The researcher and bestselling author of Your Brain at Work delivers a powerful, neuroscience-backed guide that explains what makes us tick, and what ticks us off—through an exploration of the five domains of social motivation that underpin and drive all human behavior.

In Your Brain at Work, David Rock introduced Emily and Paul, two hypothetical parents and professionals navigating the complexities of life. Through their connected stories, he demonstrated how our brains function during our hyper-busy workdays to help us better survive and thrive in our careers. In Good with Humans, Emily and Paul are back. Drawing on his groundbreaking SCARF model—encompassing Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness and Fairness—Rock uses their personal interactions with others as a springboard for explaining how our brains work in social situations.

While all five domains are relevant to everyone, each might be more or less important individually influencing how we respond to situations and engage with others.

Yet SCARF isn’t just about what drives us. It’s also a way of understanding what drives our interactions with others when they go well, and when they don’t. Most importantly, it can show us how to meaningfully improve these interactions in real time, or even ahead of time. The outcome is a breakthrough in how we operate with others in all realms of our lives: at work, at home, and beyond.

With the rise in AI, interpersonal skills are more important than ever. Good with Humans is the guide we need today to teach us the skills we will need tomorrow.