Why do we talk as if we're rational, but act as if we're not? Why are some people such control freaks? What is the true role of religion? Why do we seek change, yet resist it? Why do we want more of the things that have already failed to satisfy us? Why are we so passionate about sport? Why do we need to communicate? Why do we fall out of love? Why do we exaggerate stories about what's happened to us? As a social researcher, Hugh Mackay has spent most of his working life exploring why we do the things we do, ranging from the television programmes we watch or the politicians we vote for to the decisions that shape our lives - who (or whether) to marry, where to live, whether to have children, what job to do. Part reflection, part psychological analysis, What Makes Us Tick? is a highly personal account of the things Mackay has learnt from the experience of listening to people talk about their dreams, fears, faith, hopes, disappointments, frustrations and fantasies.