Amazon Summary:
Why is it so difficult to sell a plummeting stock or end a doomed relationship? Why do we listen to advice just because it came from someone “important”? Why are we more likely to fall in love when there’s danger involved? In Sway, renowned organizational thinker Ori Brafman and his brother, psychologist Rom Brafman, answer all these questions and more.
Drawing on cutting-edge research from the fields of social psychology, behavioral economics, and organizational behavior, Sway reveals dynamic forces that influence every aspect of our personal and business lives, including loss aversion (our tendency to go to great lengths to avoid perceived losses), the diagnosis bias (our inability to reevaluate our initial diagnosis of a person or situation), and the “chameleon effect” (our tendency to take on characteristics that have been arbitrarily assigned to us).
Rating: 2.5/5
Review: There are quite a lot of non-fiction books in a similar vain to
Sway, featuring anecdotal stories about an interesting psychological topic (i.e.,
Bonk,
The Tipping Point,
Freakonomics). I usually enjoy this type of book - they're always quick, interesting reads. Mary Roach's (
Bonk,
Stiff) narratives are always compelling and use convincing evidence to prove whatever point it is she is trying to make.
I especially enjoy reading them during the summer because they don't feel completely mindless, but are also light. With the weather warming up, I grabbed this book assuming I would find more of the same. Unfortunately,
Sway is pretty boring. Not only does the narrative seem empty and amateurish, but many of the "studies" that are cited raised some red flags and made me question their validity. Especially one part of the story that states all SSRI medication has been proven to only be a placebo. This is a pretty big "claim" to be putting in a pop-psychology book without any additional explanation. I automatically put the book down and did some research, finding study after study refuting this claim? This left a pretty bad taste in my mouth for the remainder of the book. Some of the stories were interesting, but most of the "psychological" discussion around them provided by the authors were either stupidly obvious or very weak, with little credible evidence to back it up.
Final Thoughts: Eh, I would personally skip it even though I know it
sounds like an interesting book. At the very least - it WAS a quick read, and it does provide some interesting anecdotes. Overall - wasn't too crazy about it.
Pokémon X and Y
