Interdisciplinary Book and Film Reviews

Believing in Magic:  The Psychology of Superstition Updated Edition     By   Stuart A. Vyse Reviewed by    Geoffrey W. Sutton Are you superstitious? In Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition    Stuart Vyse provides a highly readable, informative, and even entertaining look at superstition. Vyse covers a wide variety of superstitions used by children and adults in many cultures but focuses on the charms, beliefs, and rituals prevalent in the United States.   We also learn from experiments and observations how superstitious behavior develops in children and continues into adult life. Animal studies reveal uncanny resemblances to the superstitious behavior of humans. We also learn by imitating others thus; social influence is a factor associated with superstitious beliefs and rituals. Those who play professional sports, gamblers in casinos, and college students taking exams, serve as prime examples of people who engage in s...

  Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment By:    Daniel Kahneman, Olivier Sibony, and Cass R. Sunstein Reviewed by   Geoffrey W. Sutton   We are constantly exposed to opinions. Some of those opinions are judgments. And some of those judgments affect our opportunities to work, obtain healthcare, receive fair treatment by government entities, and earn fair evaluations in school. Some people are paid to make informed judgments. Unfortunately, some judgments are noisy—they vary. Noise is about the differences in judgments that affect our lives. When the authors provide examples of variation in judgments, they are writing about variability in a statistical sense. As a retired professor who taught research and statistics to undergraduate and graduate students, I’m not sure the authors were entirely clear—at least not clear enough for readers who are either new to the concept or haven’t drawn on their statistics knowledge for some years. In any event, I think the...

  The Seven Sins   of Memory By Daniel L. Schacter        Reviewed by   Geoffrey W. Sutton Schacter’s Seven Sins of Memory is like a fine seven course meal. Each course serves up an interesting collection of research that’s easy to read by the general public and pleasantly presented, yet rich with enough details to appeal to scholars and practitioners. I left feeling satisfied. Every mental health clinician and all who work with people should read about the seven sins of memory and come back to it when they wonder about memory complaints or detect discrepancies in recall. Students will find it helpful too as Schacter weaves psychological science into meaningful stories—a good example of how to write about psychological science for nonpsychology majors. I must say that I found the notion of “sins” strange—is this a psychology of religion book? I suppose it could be. Afterall, religious scholar Craig Keener included a discussion of ...

  Think Again The Power of Knowing   What You Don’t Know By   Adam Grant Reviewed by   Geoffrey W. Sutton   Think Again works. Throughout the book, I found myself rethinking some of my assumptions and learning new applications of familiar and new psychological findings. In many ways, Adam Grant challenges us to rethink what we are doing at work, school, and even in relationships. It’s a book that deserves a place in any syllabus challenging students to think and rethink their assumptions and to develop confident humility. But Think Again also belongs in discussion groups in the workplace. On a technical note, Grant divides the book into four parts followed by an Epilogue, and a more or less set of summary statements presented as Actions for Impact. The chapters are introduced with a poignant story. As the theme of a chapter unfolds, we encounter more stories and illustrations that help us appreciate the author’s point. You’ll find it’...

THINKING,  FAST AND SLOW           By Daniel Kahneman,  Reviewed by  Geoffrey W. Sutton Kahneman’s analysis of thinking in Thinking, Fast and Slow , is close to a metatheory of human nature. In highly readable prose he explains how numerous psychological experiments document the interplay of two ways human brains process and act upon the myriad of stimuli encountered in daily life. Many reviews have extolled the brilliance of the book and its Nobel-prize winning author. My skeptical bias against excessive public endorsements was on high alert until I began to read. My copy has so many notes that it was hard to condense them for this review. I must confess, this was one of the best psychology books I have ever read.  Daniel Kahneman is Eugene Higgins Professor of Psychology Emeritus at Princeton University and Professor of Psychology and Public Affairs Emeritus at Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and Internation...