Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior

I thought it was a wonderful book. Pointed out mistakes I make in my own thinking & though I may not be able 2 change my thinking much, at least it was able 2 make me aware of some of the traps I may be falling into. Very good book.

I have read some great books the past few months. One of these is Sway: The Irresistible Pull Of Irrational Behavior by Ori & Rom Brafman.

Having loved The Starfish & the Spider, I was curious as 2 how SWAY would live up 2 its touted, will change the way you think about the way you think.

Essentially SWAY is a book that seeks 2 identify the unseen forces that sway us in our decision making. What was fascinating is how vulnerable we all are 2 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 & reason.

For anyone dealing with people, ministry, organizations, church work, etc. this book will be an eye-opener. All of us tend 2 think of others as irrational in their behavior & 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 & reasoning.

"We're all susceptible 2 the sway of irrational behaviors. But by better understanding the seductive pull of these forces, we'll be less likely 2 fall victim 2 them in the future."

Some of the forces that sway us & are backed with fascinating real life stories & research:

loss aversion: how we overreact 2 perceived losses...our natural tendency 2 avoid the pain of loss distorts our thinking

commitment: strong resolve 2 stay the course 2 the way we have been doing things 4 years & our inability 2 react 2 superior strategies

value attribution: our tendency 2 imbue someone or something with certain qualities based on perceived value, rather than on objective data...once we attribute a certain value 2 a person or thing, it dramatically alters our perceptions of subsequent information

diagnosis bias: our propensity 2 label people, ideas, or things based on our initial opinions of them & our inability 2 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: & the great lengths 2 which we'll go 2 defend it...when it comes 2 fairness it's the process not the outcome that causes us 2 react irrationally...how important it is 4 people 2 feel they have a voice when it comes 2 the issue of fairness

group conformity: depends on unanimity 4 its power...the temptation 2 align ourselves with everyone else...a lone dissenter is enough 2 break the spell & "give permission" 2 break ranks with others in the group

The Brafman boys have a nice addition 2 the Pop Psych Lit bookshelf here. The book's applicability cuts across genres, certainly touching on business (especially management & marketing), personal improvement, relationships, psychology, & probably other areas.

They start really strong with the story of an airline crash & the pilot's commitment of several successive & compounding errors that demonstrate some of their key takeaways: commitment bias, confirmation bias, avoidance of loss, etc. The book moves along quickly & hits spots along the way; but, nothing else quite matches up 2 this section 4 teachability: its memorable & its tangible. To borrow the parlance of another quasi-pop psych title: it sticks.

Without question, "Sway" will get you thinking about some of your pwn actions & that's where I see the value 4 business & management & also in the family/relationships context. Joins "Nudge" & "Made 2 Stick" as less heralded entries in this growing & important category of nonfiction where Gladwell is the rock star & center of gravity.

Good effort 2 put scholarly studies into accessible language with a simple theme. In this case, the theme is a "sway" toward irrational behavior. The authors keep it tightly focused on a few sways - fear loss more than gain, diagnosis error, & commitment. Of these, the most interesting 4 these times is the idea that people negatively respond 2 losses far more than they positively respond 2 equivalent gains. The book offers suggestions 2 counter the sways once you recognize their existence.

I've been interested in the reasons people make the types of decisions they do even when presented with the evidence that it's the wrong decision or, at best, inappropriate. This book explains the reasons in an easy-to-understand format that makes sense.

It's a quick read without a lot of the technical gobbledygook that might be present in textbooks or peer reviewed journals. It's well worth a look.