Sidetracked

With diction that sounds precise but never forced, Tamara Marston gives an appealing performance of this practical guide. The innocent quality in her voice is a good foil for the author's academic rigor, making Gino's advice sound more inviting than prescriptive. Decision making becomes derailed when intentions and realities relevant to choices are pushed aside by the power of inner emotional issues, important relationships, or the messages we get from our immediate surroundings and culture. Illustrated by personal anecdotes and research conducted by herself and other psychologists, her stimulating insights will widen everyone's field of vision when in the midst of any important decision. This is an essential lesson for those wanting to be more proactive and effective with their choices. T.W. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine

December 24, 2012
We’ve all made decisions and plans with the best of intentions: to save for retirement, to search for a better job, to go on a diet. However, we’re surprisingly bad at anticipating our own behavior and at sticking to those well-intentioned decisions. Harvard Business School professor and psychologist Gino investigates the behavior psychology behind this self-defeating behavior, and describes the forces that influence our decisions—“forces within ourselves,” “forces from our relationships with others,” and “forces from the outside world.” In lively prose, Gino describes experiments conducted with students, observing as despite their best intentions they get caught up in contagious emotions, focus too narrowly, fail to take the perspective of those around them into account, and form unproductive social bonds. If only we could acknowledge and recognize “the forces that derail decisions,” as Gino advocates, we could try to make better decisions and stick to them. Though the book is pitched to fans of Dan Ariely, Gino’s style and execution is much like his, and some experiments are even repeated and may not feel fresh.