Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior

recommended for: everyone - except those who never read nonfiction, but maybe they’d appreciate this one

This book is very readable and entertaining, and so engaging that I just kept reading and didn’t read the notes until after I’d finished the book, which is unusual for me. It’s fascinating knowlege for anyone who has an interest in universal human nature and/or group dynamics.

The authors take a bunch of existing studies and do a tremendous job of presenting a cogent thesis about why human beings can exhibit such irrational behaviors. I was familiar with many of the studies cited in the book; I was even a participant in a friend's version of the “different lengths of lines” study described.

I recommend this book to everyone, because it shows that even if we believe we’re logical and independent thinkers and reasonable in our decision making, and assume that we possess impeccable common sense, that there are factors at work that often make our assumptions not so. You may be surprised by the findings presented here re loss aversion, pull of commitment, value attribution, diagnostic bias, etc. Even if these concepts are not new to you, the way the information is presented here will make you think. Now that I’ve read this book, I’m confident that remembering the material presented will help me think before I act. I do think of myself as someone who thinks and makes decisions in a logical manner, although even though before I read this, I was very aware of my own aversion to loss, and also my tendency to be influenced by value attribution; the latter is something I’ve actually tried to work on with some success.

I’d like to see this book assigned as an adjunct text for many psychology, sociology, economics, business, and education classes. I also hope that it’s read by every person who is in a position of power, especially our elected officials and those such as airplane pilots and others in similarly responsible jobs. Also finding it helpful would be those who work with others, including HR people (although preferably not those who will interview me for jobs since historically I do “very well” in job interviews, even though I’ve always thought they’ve had limitations.)

My favorite portions of the book were the part that described the brain centers of altruism vs. pleasure, because that research was brand new information for me, and also the part where Stephen Breyer describes his process doing his work as a Supreme Court Justice, just because I found his explanation so fascinating. I also was extremely entertained by the $20 bill story, and I assume that all readers will find this story enjoyable, unless they were ever one of the final two participants in this or a similar activity.

I appreciate that, while this is not a self-help book, reading the book isn’t an exercise in futility; having this information actually gives the readers tools to empower themselves.

The formatting of the chapter headings is very clever too, as it ties into the sway/pull theme of the book. ( )

fascinating fun look at human foibles would make a good non-fiction book discussion book ( )

The key to life: be open-minded and non judgmental. That's certainly not an easy way to approach life for us humans. I'm glad the authors mentioned Zen Buddhism, because that philosophy certainly aids one in approaching the world with an uncluttered outlook. ( )

Fascinating & very accessible, without being dumbed-down. ( )

This was mostly worth listening to because of the interesting anecdotes it includes in relation to the points. The points it makes are worth thinking about in a be-aware-of-what-you're-doing-and-why sort of way but I feel like many of them are obvious. Also, THE most patronizing sounding narrator. Ugh.