Publication Date:June 3, 2008 Availability:Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
A fascinating journey into the hidden psychological influences that derail our decision-making, Sway will change the way you think about the way you think.
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).
Sway introduces us to the Harvard Business School professor who got his students to pay $204 for a $20 bill, the head of airline safety whose disregard for his years of training led to the transformation of an entire industry, and the football coach who turned conventional strategy on its head to lead his team to victory. We also learn the curse of the NBA draft, discover why interviews are a terrible way to gauge future job performance, and go inside a session with the Supreme Court to see how the world’s most powerful justices avoid the dangers of group dynamics.
Every once in a while, a book comes along that not only challenges our views of the world but changes the way we think. In Sway, Ori and Rom Brafman not only uncover rational explanations for a wide variety of irrational behaviors but also point readers toward ways to avoid succumbing to their pull.
Great little book!November 30, 2008 I could never understand why rational people made irrational decisions. After reading this book, I do. It's an easy read with practical examples to make it even easier. It's had a huge impact on the way I now look at behavior... including my own. Very worthwhile reading.
Brilliant and Lively Insights into Human BehaviorNovember 30, 2008 This review of humans' irrational quirks reminded me pleasantly of Predictably Irrational, by Dan Ariely. Several of the examples overlap. Both works discuss the mechanisms in the human mind that substitute for reason - ways that our evolutionary history has apparently left us with some mental baggage that functions pretty well in some common circumstances, but badly in others. For example, why will people bid $200 for the right to buy a $20 bill?
I found the writing clear and entertaining, and some of the issues quite useful for understanding my own and others' behavior. It's a quick read and maybe a little too short. I read it in one rainy afternoon. But very entertaining and something I will read again. I highly recommend this book.
Job Search Lessons From "Sway" By Ori and Rom BrafmanNovember 29, 2008 Who knew that financial compensation had the same effect on the brain as snorting a line of cocaine? After reading "Sway" you know this, as well as a number of other surprising facts. This must-read is subtitled The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior. While it isn't a career coaching book its lessons are applicable to jobseekers:
Hot dog company Nathan's couldn't get people to try their hot dogs so they paid doctors to eat it. If doctors liked it, then they must be okay for the common folk, and hot dog sales took off. This is how the Brafmans demonstrate value attribution. Jobseekers, think about who is giving you referrals and recommendations. Get a highly regarded person in your corner and let value attribution work for you.
My heart is still in my mouth regarding the story of the toddler who died after doctors in the ER repeatedly missed her symptoms. Diagnosis bias caused them to overlook what the symptoms could mean and instead see only what they had predetermined. Jobseekers, if you've already diagnosed your search as beyond repair, then it is. You will see only what is wrong. You will be too easily discouraged. You will miss opportunities that do arise. Change your search first and foremost by changing your thinking.
Anecdotes from politics, sports, business and everyday life teach other lessons in commitment, loss aversion, the chameleon effect and more. Jobseekers, you don't want to go down a road that's not working just because that's what you've always done (commitment). You also don't want to play it so safe that you don't take enough chances to win the job (loss aversion). Finally, the chameleon effect warns us that we take on the characteristics that others ascribe to us. So jobseekers, in this often tumultuous job market, keep company with people who believe in you so you live up to their high expectations. Avoid the naysayers, lest they convince you to be less than you truly can be.
Quick read but very imformativeNovember 21, 2008 I thought it was a wonderful book. Pointed out mistakes I make in my own thinking and though I may not be able to change my thinking much, at least it was able to make me aware of some of the traps I may be falling into. Very good book.
Definitely swayed by SwayNovember 18, 2008 I have read some great books the past few months. One of these is Sway: The Irresistible Pull Of Irrational Behavior by Ori and Rom Brafman.
Having loved The Starfish and the Spider, I was curious as to how SWAY would live up to its touted, will change the way you think about the way you think.
Essentially SWAY is a book that seeks to identify the unseen forces that sway us in our decision making. What was fascinating is how vulnerable we all are to these psychological forces. What I often consider "rational, reasoned, logical thinking" is, admittedly, more often than not, my own "blind spots" influencing the way I think and reason.
For anyone dealing with people, ministry, organizations, church work, etc. this book will be an eye-opener. All of us tend to think of others as irrational in their behavior and thinking. But few of us believe we ourselves are influenced by these same factors. Sway helped me understand some of the deeply-rooted psychological forces at work influencing the choices I make. What often passes as "God's will" or the "right thing" is frequently more the irresistible pull of one of these hidden forces at work upon our thinking and reasoning.
"We're all susceptible to the sway of irrational behaviors. But by better understanding the seductive pull of these forces, we'll be less likely to fall victim to them in the future."
Some of the forces that sway us and are backed with fascinating real life stories and research:
loss aversion: how we overreact to perceived losses...our natural tendency to avoid the pain of loss distorts our thinking
commitment: strong resolve to stay the course to the way we have been doing things for years and our inability to react to superior strategies
value attribution: our tendency to imbue someone or something with certain qualities based on perceived value, rather than on objective data...once we attribute a certain value to a person or thing, it dramatically alters our perceptions of subsequent information
diagnosis bias: our propensity to label people, ideas, or things based on our initial opinions of them and our inability to reconsider those judgments once we've made them
chameleon effect: when we brand or label people they take on the characteristics of the diagnosis
fairness: and the great lengths to which we'll go to defend it...when it comes to fairness it's the process not the outcome that causes us to react irrationally...how important it is for people to feel they have a voice when it comes to the issue of fairness
group conformity: depends on unanimity for its power...the temptation to align ourselves with everyone else...a lone dissenter is enough to break the spell and "give permission" to break ranks with others in the group
