
Good with Humans
The Neuroscience of What Makes Us Tick and What Ticks Us Off
David Rock(Author)
HarperCollins (Publisher)
Will be published approx. on 3. December 2026
Book
Hardback
304 pages
978-0-06-346396-7 (ISBN)
Description
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.
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.
Reviews / Votes
"Rock makes the science of your mind accessible and relevant." - Daniel Akst, Fortune Small Business, on Your Brain at Work"A highly informative look at the way our minds work at work." - St. Paul Pioneer Press on Your Brain at Work
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
HarperCollins Publishers Inc
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Weight
646 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-06-346396-7 (9780063463967)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Dr. David Rock coined the term 'Neuroleadership' and is the Director of the NeuroLeadership Institute, a cognitive science think tank and consultancy that has built a new science for leadership, learning and change. The Institute has helped nearly twenty million people in the last decade be more effective by understanding the brain, and has advised more than two thirds of the Fortune 100. He is the author of Coaching with the Brain in Mind, Quiet Leadership, and Your Brain at Work, and dozens of papers on the neuroscience of leadership. Originally Australian, he now lives in Miami Beach, Florida.