The Wisest One in the Room: How To Harness Psychology's Most Powerful Insights by Ross Lee & Gilovich Thomas

Author:Ross, Lee & Gilovich, Thomas
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oneworld Publications
Published: 2016-01-17T16:00:00+00:00

Looking Back and Moving Forward

When people try to define wisdom, they often emphasize practical knowledge and social acuity over intellect or “book smarts.” As we mentioned in the introduction, Merriam-Webster offers “good sense” as its final definition of wisdom, a definition that highlights the ability to apply what one knows when dealing with the opportunities and challenges of everyday life. It is in the spirit of that perspective on wisdom that we offer the final four chapters of our book.

We wouldn’t have written this book (or ever pursued careers in social psychology) if we didn’t think the wisdom our field has to offer could help in dealing with a wide range of pressing problems and practical concerns. In very general terms, we have suggested that in tackling any applied behavioral problem, it is essential to understand the details—especially the hidden and subtle details—of the web of situational forces acting on the individuals whose behavior one wants to change (chapter 2). But it is also essential to understand how those forces are interpreted by the individuals who face them (chapter 3) and to be aware of the various filters and lenses that guide, and potentially distort, their interpretations (chapter 5).

We began our discussion, however, with the most common source of human misunderstanding that wise men and women have called attention to over the centuries: the tendency for people to regard their own perceptions and reactions as if they are a direct, objective, and veridical reflection of how things “really are” rather than the product of subjective interpretation (chapter 1). We also introduced a critical insight about the link between beliefs and behavior: The actions that people take not only reflect what they feel and believe; they can powerfully influence their feelings and beliefs downstream (chapter 4). Indeed, an understanding of the human need to make sense of our actions, and in many cases to justify or rationalize those actions, can be a valuable tool in addressing applied problems.

In our first five chapters, we have focused mainly on what goes on in the mind of the individual. Before proceeding further, it is worth considering the ways in which the factors described in these five chapters come together in a given society or culture. Without our being aware of it, our culture provides the lenses and filters through which we perceive the events that take place around us and the challenges and opportunities that present themselves. But culture is not something that is just “in the head.” It includes the material features of our environment—the kinds of houses we live in, the design of our shops, schools, and meeting places; and it also includes the laws and customs that dictate much of our behavior. Directly and indirectly it determines the options that are open to us and what actions are deemed virtuous or scandalous or even unthinkable.

When we think of cultures, we tend to think of other cultures—especially those that differ from our own in marked ways, cultures in which people engage in

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.