Minda, J. P. (2021). How to Think: Understanding the Way We Decide, Remember and Make Sense of the World. London, UK: Little, Brown Book Group.

A trade book for general audiences exploring how the mind reasons, decides, and makes sense of the world, drawing on cognitive psychology research.

Minda, J. P. (2020). The Psychology of Thinking: Reasoning, Decision-Making, and Problem-Solving (2nd ed.). London, UK: SAGE Publications.

A textbook covering the core topics in thinking and reasoning, updated with new research on decision-making, problem solving, and cognitive biases.

Minda, J. P., Roark, C. L., Kalra, P. B., & Cruz, A. (2024). Single and multiple systems in categorization and category learning. Nature Reviews Psychology, 3, 536–551.

A comprehensive review arguing that human category learning draws on both rule-based and similarity-based systems, synthesizing decades of behavioral and neural evidence.

Minda, J. P. & Smith, J. D. (2001). Prototypes in category learning: The effects of category size, category structure, and stimulus complexity. Journal of Experimental Psychology: LMC, 27, 775–799.

A foundational study showing that prototype abstraction—not just memorized exemplars—plays a reliable role in how people learn new categories.

Minda, J. P. & Smith, J. D. (2002). Comparing prototype-based and exemplar-based accounts of category learning and attentional allocation. Journal of Experimental Psychology: LMC, 28, 275–292.

Directly pits GCM exemplar models against prototype models, finding conditions under which each account better captures human performance.

Cruz, A., & Minda, J. P. (2024). The spacing effect in remote information-integration category learning. Memory & Cognition, 52, 1653–1672.

Demonstrates that spacing practice trials across time benefits learning of complex, non-verbalizable categories, extending spacing-effect research to implicit systems.

Smith, J. D., Minda, J. P., & Washburn, D. A. (2004). Category learning in rhesus monkeys: A study of the Shepard, Hovland, and Jenkins tasks. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 133, 398–414.

Tests the classic SHJ category structures with non-human primates, revealing both similarities and key differences in how monkeys and humans organize categories.

Kalra, P. B., Batterink, L. J., & Minda, J. P. (2025). Procedural and declarative knowledge simultaneously contribute to category response selection. Psychological Research, 89, 146.

Shows that implicit procedural and explicit declarative memory systems both contribute to category responses at the same time, challenging purely sequential models.

Miles, S. J. & Minda, J. P. (2011). The effects of concurrent verbal and visual tasks on category learning. Journal of Experimental Psychology: LMC, 37, 588–607.

Uses dual-task methodology to show that verbal interference selectively disrupts rule-based category learning while leaving similarity-based learning relatively intact.

Minda, J. P. & Rabi, R. R. (2015). Ego depletion interferes with rule-defined category learning but not non-rule-defined category learning. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 35.

Demonstrates that depleting self-control resources impairs explicit rule-based learning, implicating executive function in the verbal-reasoning categorization system.

Rabi, R. R., Joanisse, M. F., Zhu, T., & Minda, J. P. (2018). Cognitive changes in conjunctive rule-based category learning: An ERP approach. Cognitive, Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience, 18, 1034–1048.

Uses event-related potentials to track how neural signatures of category learning shift as people move from initial search to successful rule application.

Rabi, R. R., Miles, S. J., & Minda, J. P. (2015). Learning categories via rules and similarity: Comparing adults and children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 131, 149–169.

Reveals developmental differences in category learning strategies, with children showing less reliance on explicit rules and more on holistic similarity.

Nadler, R. T., Rabi, R. R., & Minda, J. P. (2010). Better mood and better performance: Learning rule-described categories is enhanced by positive mood. Psychological Science, 21, 1770–1776.

Shows that induced positive affect broadens attentional scope in ways that specifically help people discover and apply category rules.

Nadler, R. T., Carswell, J. J., & Minda, J. P. (2020). Online mindfulness training increases well-being, emotional intelligence, and workplace competency ratings: A randomized waitlist-controlled trial. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 255.

A randomized trial showing that a brief online mindfulness program produces measurable improvements in emotional intelligence and perceived workplace competence.

Nielsen, E. G. & Minda, J. P. (2021). The mindful lawyer: Investigating the effects of two online mindfulness programs on self-reported well-being in the legal profession. Journal of Environmental and Occupational Medicine.

Examines whether mindfulness interventions tailored for lawyers reduce stress and improve wellbeing in a high-pressure professional context.

Johnson, L. K., Nadler, R. T., Carswell, J. J., & Minda, J. P. (2021). Using the broaden-and-build theory to test a model of mindfulness, affect, and stress. Mindfulness, 12, 1696–1707.

Tests a path model linking trait mindfulness to reduced stress via positive affect, providing structural support for Fredrickson’s broaden-and-build framework.

Goldszmidt, M., Minda, J. P., & Bordage, G. (2013). Developing a unified list of physicians’ reasoning tasks during clinical encounters. Academic Medicine, 88, 1–8.

Identifies the full taxonomy of cognitive tasks physicians perform during patient encounters, with implications for medical education and assessment.

Zhang, K. M., Swartzman, L. C., Petrella, R. J., Gill, D. P., & Minda, J. P. (2017). Explaining the causal links between illness management and symptom reduction. Patient Education and Counselling, 100(6), 1169–1176.

Develops and evaluates an evidence-based patient education approach that uses causal explanation to improve understanding of chronic illness management.

Vasudevan, V., Hanson, B., Gittings, L., Minda, J. P., & Irwin, J. D. (2025). A systematic review of stress reduction interventions among graduate students. Journal of American College Health.

Synthesizes the evidence on psychological and behavioral stress-reduction programs for graduate students, identifying which approaches show the strongest effects.

Devantier, S. L., Minda, J. P., Goldszmidt, M., & Haddara, W. (2009). Categorizing patients in a forced-choice triad task. PLoS ONE, 4, e5881.

Applies category learning theory to medical diagnosis, showing that physicians integrate contextual cues when categorizing patients in ways consistent with similarity-based models.

Van Bavel, J. J., Cichocka, A., Capraro, V., Minda, J. P., et al. (2022). National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic. Nature Communications, 13, 517.

A large cross-national study finding that people who identify more strongly with their nation show greater support for public health measures during COVID-19.

Pavlovic, T., Azevedo, F., De, K., Minda, J. P., … Van Bavel, J. J. (2022). Predicting attitudinal and behavioral responses to COVID-19 pandemic using machine learning. PNAS Nexus, 1(3), pgac093.

Uses machine learning across 69 countries to identify the psychological predictors of compliance with COVID-19 health guidelines, highlighting moral concerns as key drivers.

Azevedo, F., Pavlovic, T., Minda, J. P., … Sampaio, W. M. (2023). Social and moral psychology of COVID-19 across 69 countries. Nature Scientific Data.

Releases and documents a large open dataset on moral, social, and psychological predictors of pandemic behavior collected across 69 nations.