Opening Skinner's Box: Great Psychological Experiments of the Twentieth Century
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- Create Date：2021-07-30 08:53:22
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Lauren Slater
- ISBN：074756860X
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Summary
A century can be understood in many ways - in terms of its inventions， its crimes or its art。 In Opening Skinner's Box， Lauren Slater sets out to investigate the twentieth century through a series of ten fascinating， witty and sometimes shocking accounts of its key psychological experiments。 Starting with the founder of modern scientific experimentation， B。F。 Skinner， Slater traces the evolution of the last hundred years' most pressing concerns - free will， authoritarianism， violence， conformity and morality。 Previously buried in academic textbooks， these often daring experiments are now seen in their full context and told as stories， rich in plot， wit and character。
Reviews
Konstantinos Mindcrimek
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Ενδιαφέρον βιβλίο που σε δέκα κεφάλαια παρουσιάζει 10 σημαντικά ψυχολογικά πειράματα του 20ου αιώνα。 Δεν απευθύνεται σε ειδικούς της ψυχικής υγείας και γι’ αυτό δεν χρησιμοποιείται γλώσσα που θα μπορούσε να δυσκολέψει τον μέσο αναγνώστη。 Η Slater είναι ψυχολόγος αλλά επιλέγει την προσωπική της αίσθηση για το πως πιστεύει ότι έγινε το κάθε πείραμα， τι μπορεί να είχε στο μυαλό του ή να ένιωθε ο ερευνητής ή/και αυτός που έπαιρνε μέρος σε κάθε πείραμα。 Kάποιες κρίσεις και συμπεράσματα είναι αυθαίρετ Ενδιαφέρον βιβλίο που σε δέκα κεφάλαια παρουσιάζει 10 σημαντικά ψυχολογικά πειράματα του 20ου αιώνα。 Δεν απευθύνεται σε ειδικούς της ψυχικής υγείας και γι’ αυτό δεν χρησιμοποιείται γλώσσα που θα μπορούσε να δυσκολέψει τον μέσο αναγνώστη。 Η Slater είναι ψυχολόγος αλλά επιλέγει την προσωπική της αίσθηση για το πως πιστεύει ότι έγινε το κάθε πείραμα， τι μπορεί να είχε στο μυαλό του ή να ένιωθε ο ερευνητής ή/και αυτός που έπαιρνε μέρος σε κάθε πείραμα。 Kάποιες κρίσεις και συμπεράσματα είναι αυθαίρετα πάντως και παρόλο που προηγήθηκαν συνεντεύξεις με διάφορα εμπλεκόμενα με τους ερευνητές πρόσωπα έχει μια τάση να τονίζει πολύ συχνά τις αρνητικές πλευρές αυτών για τους οποίους μιλάει ή απλά να εικάζει για το χαρακτήρα ή τις σκέψεις του ερευνητή χωρίς να πατάει σε κάποια συγκεκριμένη πηγή/πληροφορία。 Επίσης προκαλεί ερωτηματικά ο τρόπος που αποφάσισε να εμπλακεί σε ένα πείραμα （περίπτωση Rosenhan） αφού μοιάζει να το έκανε μόνο και μόνο για να μειώσει τον ερευνητή。Γενικά το ότι η αφήγηση της έχει μια προσωπική χροιά είναι από τη μία θετικό καθώς έτσι αποφεύγει την στείρα κλινική παρουσίαση αλλά από την άλλη χάνει κάπως σε εγκυρότητα αφού δεν εστιάζει τόσο στα ίδια τα αποτελέσματα αλλά στην επιρροή που θεωρεί ότι είχαν τα πειράματα στην ίδια την επιστήμη， στην ίδια την διαδικασία ή στην υπόθεση του ερευνητή。 Στα αρνητικά του βιβλίου η κακή επιμέλεια από τις αγαπημένες εκδόσεις ΟΞΥ αφού ότι πόντο κέρδισε λόγω του μεγέθους το χάνει από τα πολλά λαθάκια εδώ και εκεί。 Όσο για τα ίδια τα πειράματα έχουν μεν ξεπεραστεί από τις εξελίξεις αλλά παρουσιάζουν ενδιαφέρον αν σκεφτούμε πόσο καινοτόμα ήταν στην εποχή τους και τους δρόμους που άνοιξαν για τους επόμενους ερευνητές。 Όπως λέει η Slatter "χωρίς πειράματα όπως αυτά， η γνωστική και ιστορική μας παρακαταθήκη θα ήταν φτωχότερη"。 Γενικά μιλώντας πρόκειται για πειράματα που δίνουν τροφή για σκέψη είτε αναφέρονται στη φυσιολογία του σώματος είτε σε γνωστικά φαινόμενα και， μπορεί κάποια όπως του Milgram να είναι γνωστά αλλά και τα υπόλοιπα θα τα διαβάσει κάποιος με το ίδιο ενδιαφέρον και ας μην έχουν γίνει ευρέως γνωστά。 。。。more
mia
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4。5: this book was actually really good。 i read it for school and loved it。 ive always been interested in psychology and i plan on majoring it so i believe this book was good for that。 total mind fuck。
Pasatoiu George
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Sometimes， in the name of science or a greater good， some people perform terrible experiments。 Valuable information might be leaned during the process， but the subjects， either animals or humans， suffer physically or emotionally， and might never be the same after that。 Even though such experiments have revolutionized our understanding of memory， love， habits ， reaction to rewards or punishments， a price was always paid by some innocent creatures。 A price that should not be asked and paid 。 And a Sometimes， in the name of science or a greater good， some people perform terrible experiments。 Valuable information might be leaned during the process， but the subjects， either animals or humans， suffer physically or emotionally， and might never be the same after that。 Even though such experiments have revolutionized our understanding of memory， love， habits ， reaction to rewards or punishments， a price was always paid by some innocent creatures。 A price that should not be asked and paid 。 And at times， it was also paid by the ones that performed the experiments， as their personal lives got engulfed by their work。 。。。more
Anah
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absolutely brilliant book that taught me a lot and made me more interested in the field of psychology
ThePeacockLady
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3，5*Velmi zajímavá a důkladná práce – kromě popisu samotných experimentů i popis kontextu， rozhovory s účastníky nebo blízkými， snaha o jejich replikaci， zahrnutí názorových odpůrců。 Určitě jednoznačně doporučuji všem zájemcům o psychologii。 Mohla by být jen o trošičku čtivější a autorka o trošku méně sebejistá。
Adam
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I loved the exploration that we got on some familiar experiments and some that I had never heard about before。
Stefan B。
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O incursiune impresionanta in lumea adeseori șocantă a experimentelor psihosociale ale secolului XX，ghidați de mana de fier ，dar plina de afecțiune a autoarei ，care conferă o aura personala fiecărui experiment în parte，care se implica emoțional și uneori și fizic în aceste experimente。Odata cu ea suntem și noi，cititorii，atrași în mrejele acestui grandios proces，gata sa apasam（sau nu） butonul lui Milgram，sa pășim în spitale prefăcându-ne nebuni alături de Rosenham，sa privim înmărmuriți la maimuțe O incursiune impresionanta in lumea adeseori șocantă a experimentelor psihosociale ale secolului XX，ghidați de mana de fier ，dar plina de afecțiune a autoarei ，care conferă o aura personala fiecărui experiment în parte，care se implica emoțional și uneori și fizic în aceste experimente。Odata cu ea suntem și noi，cititorii，atrași în mrejele acestui grandios proces，gata sa apasam（sau nu） butonul lui Milgram，sa pășim în spitale prefăcându-ne nebuni alături de Rosenham，sa privim înmărmuriți la maimuțele lui Harlow，sa incercam sa înțelegem cutia lui Skinner。O carte intriganta，ce nu ar trebui sa lipsească din biblioteca fiecărui cititor interesat de viață， sub formele sale mai mult sau mai puțin placute。 。。。more
Sandra Szombati
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Plenty of interesting informations in the book， plenty of new stuff I wouldn't have guessed， but I constantly felt the need to take everything with a （huge） pinch of salt。。。 The author's tone felt quite annoying to me and somehow made me not trust the info in the book。 Plenty of interesting informations in the book， plenty of new stuff I wouldn't have guessed， but I constantly felt the need to take everything with a （huge） pinch of salt。。。 The author's tone felt quite annoying to me and somehow made me not trust the info in the book。 。。。more
Adela Luta
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Deși informativă， cartea are prea multe păreri ale autoarei （indiferent că le aprob eu sau nu） pentru a fi considerată o lucrare științifică。 Uneori am avut impresia că autoarea s-a inserat prea mult în poveste， ca atunci când a decis să reproducă un experiment sau când a insistat să aibă acces la persoane ce ar fi putut avea informații （mama fetei ce era considerată a fi sfântă， când ea se lupta cu cancerul）。Pe de altă parte conține informații interesante， destul de documentate。 Pentru cine își Deși informativă， cartea are prea multe păreri ale autoarei （indiferent că le aprob eu sau nu） pentru a fi considerată o lucrare științifică。 Uneori am avut impresia că autoarea s-a inserat prea mult în poveste， ca atunci când a decis să reproducă un experiment sau când a insistat să aibă acces la persoane ce ar fi putut avea informații （mama fetei ce era considerată a fi sfântă， când ea se lupta cu cancerul）。Pe de altă parte conține informații interesante， destul de documentate。 Pentru cine își dorește să aibă parte nu doar de cifre și statistici legate de experimentele secolului XX， ci și de o lectură plăcută cu poveste personală， o recomand。 。。。more
Wayne R
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Very helpful， includes few another experiments and examples too
John Reis
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I learned a lot from this book despite the author’s interposing herself into the history。 Especially her comments early on about her youth。
Lindsey
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This book was so close to being a DNF， but I persevered after picking this up on and off for a year。 I really really wanted to enjoy this book as I’m really interested in psychology and was my second choice for a degree。 However， Slater’s writing style just really did not sit right with me。 She spends half her time just focusing on her life （which no offence to her， but was not why I picked up the book）。 Large chunks of text is just about her thoughts e。g about what they would get up to when the This book was so close to being a DNF， but I persevered after picking this up on and off for a year。 I really really wanted to enjoy this book as I’m really interested in psychology and was my second choice for a degree。 However， Slater’s writing style just really did not sit right with me。 She spends half her time just focusing on her life （which no offence to her， but was not why I picked up the book）。 Large chunks of text is just about her thoughts e。g about what they would get up to when they go home with no scientific basis to back it up， and again was not what I was interested in。 I can see what she was trying to do by giving us more information on the psychologists behind the study， but she massively fell short of the mark。 For me， I felt like Slater just enjoyed writing， but half of it did not really help the book in any way。 This book was not all bad though， the studies she chose were definitely all high impact， and thought provoking。 She also did offer some good insights into the studies and raised some good questions， but you really did have to dig deep for those。Overall， I loved the idea of this book， and will definitely be researching these studies myself！ However， this is not a book I would recommend to read。 。。。more
Natalie Hanagan
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Easily one of the best books I’ve ever read。 This book got me completely enamored with Slater’s unique and captivating writing style。 The recording of scientific and psychological concepts in such an abstract， emotional， largely poetic way is incredibly mind-opening as well; this is certainly one of the books that opened my dreamer’s mind to the world of nonfiction and science。
Ana
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One cool， interesting， light read， with chapters that make you wonder on how our minds work。
Drew
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had to read it for school。 It was fairly dense but overall a good read。
Ethan Smith
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Lots of interesting new information + analysis and development of studies I already knew = I'm happy Lots of interesting new information + analysis and development of studies I already knew = I'm happy 。。。more
Vanessa M
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One of the best scientific book i ve ever read。 I wanted to study psychology after 。 What can we learn from group psychology experiments？ Why are we accepting to become executioners if we are told so？ How come women can be raped in the middle of the day without anyone doing anything。。。 the learnings are often quite different from what you expect。 A must read！
MCK
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Sehr informativ
Valerie Lay
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I have read this book 3 times in my life。 My sister gave me this book shortly after high school after I decided to major in psychology。 My first read: I fell in love with this book。 Second time I had to read it was in college for my capstone class。 The third time I read it was recently。 I have to say， my opinion has changed in the 6 years since I first read this book。 I did look up some other reviews on here and I have to say that I do agree with most of them。 Slater's prose interwoven in the bo I have read this book 3 times in my life。 My sister gave me this book shortly after high school after I decided to major in psychology。 My first read: I fell in love with this book。 Second time I had to read it was in college for my capstone class。 The third time I read it was recently。 I have to say， my opinion has changed in the 6 years since I first read this book。 I did look up some other reviews on here and I have to say that I do agree with most of them。 Slater's prose interwoven in the book is honestly。。。annoying at times。 While she's trying to take an "unbiased" view， her views actually become anything but and are very clear in the book。 After doing some fact checking， and with just my general psych knowledge， there are a lot of things in this book that Slater got wrong， introduced incorrectly， or posited things that were way off the mark。 I actually looked up several articles where this book was a "scandal" in psych literature because of just how inaccurate and biased it could be。 The experiments and the way she explains them are interesting。 Her introduction of basic psychology is easy to understand and fun to read。 Her inner thoughts。。。。I could do without 9/10。 。。。more
Mirabela
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Deși unele experimente au stârnit sentimente negative， tot a fost carte pe care am citit-o cu mare curiozitate。
Rebecca Mari-Mohl
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Senzațională！ Din toate punctele de vedere。 Experimentele pe care autoarea le-a ales sunt într-adevăr demne de atenția publicului。 Maniera ei de a împleti propria perspectivă și propria implicare emoțională în fiecare din cele 10 experimente alese， mi-au indus starea de "impecabilitate"。 O carte care mi-a deschis noi orizonturi， noi surse de căutare dar mai ales noi unghiuri de a interpreta realitatea înconjurătoare。 Senzațională！ Din toate punctele de vedere。 Experimentele pe care autoarea le-a ales sunt într-adevăr demne de atenția publicului。 Maniera ei de a împleti propria perspectivă și propria implicare emoțională în fiecare din cele 10 experimente alese， mi-au indus starea de "impecabilitate"。 O carte care mi-a deschis noi orizonturi， noi surse de căutare dar mai ales noi unghiuri de a interpreta realitatea înconjurătoare。 。。。more
Pavel
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Lauren Slaterová prozkoumává slavné experimenty， které otřásly celým světem。 Jde pořádně do hloubky a vyvrací mnoho zažitých mýtů nejen u laické veřejnosti， ale i u odborníků。 Dojde na testování apatičnosti lidí vůči cizí bolesti （takové to "X svědků nepomohlo" nebo "když autorita v bílém plášti řekne 'udělej to'， většina lidí je schopná ubližovat ostatním"）， pokusy na opicích odloučených od matky či třeba na lobotomii。Autorka se do tématu opravdu pořádně ponořila。 Když už určití vědci nežijí， v Lauren Slaterová prozkoumává slavné experimenty， které otřásly celým světem。 Jde pořádně do hloubky a vyvrací mnoho zažitých mýtů nejen u laické veřejnosti， ale i u odborníků。 Dojde na testování apatičnosti lidí vůči cizí bolesti （takové to "X svědků nepomohlo" nebo "když autorita v bílém plášti řekne 'udělej to'， většina lidí je schopná ubližovat ostatním"）， pokusy na opicích odloučených od matky či třeba na lobotomii。Autorka se do tématu opravdu pořádně ponořila。 Když už určití vědci nežijí， vyhledává alespoň jejich potomky， přátelé či účastníky experimentů a snaží se podat jejich co možná nejkomplexnější obraz。 V tom jí pomáhá to， že je sama psychoterapeutka， ale také má určité literární a dokonce až lyrické nadání - a rozhodně se ani jedno nebojí použít。 Slaterová se opírá nejen o fakta a odborné termíny， ale přiznaně si i vymýšlí a domýšlí。 Takže občas po vás autorka hodí zmínku o "transkraniální magnetické stimulaci"， ale občas také detailně a poeticky popisuje， jaké bylo toho dne počasí， jakým pachem byly načichlé aleje， a kolik pasty v tubě zbylo hrdinovi příběhu， když si toho rána čistil zuby。。。 Ne， to trochu přeháním， ale opravdu je to， řekněme， velmi literární。 A tato literárnost i odbornost může být někdy náročnější na čtení。Na druhou stranu je autorka opravdu obdivuhodná a díky své fantazii i odbornosti přináší místy neskutečně působivý text。 Mnohá fakta budou určitě velice překvapivá i pro lidi， kteří jsou s populárně naučnou psychologií kámoši， a díky popisnosti hlavních postav a scén jsou některé pasáže opravdu dojemné。 Navíc se Slaterová klidně kontaktuje i protistranu （mnohé experimenty a jejich výsledky jsou natolik kontroverzní， že mají mnoho odpůrců z řad odborníků） a nebojácně jim nejen oponuje， ale dokonce si i jeden experiment zkusí sama otestovat。Pandořina skříňka je občas náročnější čtení （v rámci populárně naučné literatury）， ale rozhodně stojí za to。 Jde o velmi objevný kus literatury pro všechny fandy do psychologie， která nezapomíná i na morální rozměr。Osm předsudků o vědeckých experimentech z deseti。 。。。more
Louis
，
This is an unusual， quite personal， idiosyncratic take on some of the great psychological experiments of the 20th century。 Some， such as Milgram's shock experiment and Skinner's conditioning are well known， but there are a number of less famous but no less fascinating inclusions present too。One interesting element is that the author immerses herself into the story， for example she attempts to get herself admitted to a mental hospital as part of the chapter on Rosenhan's experiment。 In places thi This is an unusual， quite personal， idiosyncratic take on some of the great psychological experiments of the 20th century。 Some， such as Milgram's shock experiment and Skinner's conditioning are well known， but there are a number of less famous but no less fascinating inclusions present too。One interesting element is that the author immerses herself into the story， for example she attempts to get herself admitted to a mental hospital as part of the chapter on Rosenhan's experiment。 In places this takes on a bit of an uncomfortable hue， most notably in the chapter on Festinger and cognitive dissonance where the author challenges the dying mother of a disabled child why she hasn't used her supposed saintly powers to heal her。 All in all however， this is a most thought provoking book and one I'd recommend for readers regardless of their familiarity with psychology。 。。。more
Abubakar Mehdi
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The narrative description of Milgram’s experiment comes awfully close to fictionalising the whole thing。 I appreciate her desire to make this dry subject more interesting but am not sure to what extend you can take these liberties。 Same is the case with the first chapter on Skinner。 Its a well written book and a good insight on the history of some major breakthroughs in the study of human psychology， but her narrative inevitably raises some questions at to the authenticity and veracity of their The narrative description of Milgram’s experiment comes awfully close to fictionalising the whole thing。 I appreciate her desire to make this dry subject more interesting but am not sure to what extend you can take these liberties。 Same is the case with the first chapter on Skinner。 Its a well written book and a good insight on the history of some major breakthroughs in the study of human psychology， but her narrative inevitably raises some questions at to the authenticity and veracity of their explanation。 。。。more
Ellie Ham
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I liked the chapters talking about Skinner's rat experiment， Milgram's experiment on authority， and Harry Harlow's wired monkey experiments。 I liked the chapters talking about Skinner's rat experiment， Milgram's experiment on authority， and Harry Harlow's wired monkey experiments。 。。。more
Ben Hathaway
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I think this was a bit misleading in that its as much an emotional and personal response by Lauren Slater to these 10 experiments rather than an in-depth and detailed analysis of them， although this is present as well。I learned a fair bit about them but a fair bit about Lauren Slater， which wasnt what I was after but still appreciated to an extent。 She's a very talented writer which saves the book， one feels at no point does ego override content， which wouldve been an easy slope to slip down。 If I think this was a bit misleading in that its as much an emotional and personal response by Lauren Slater to these 10 experiments rather than an in-depth and detailed analysis of them， although this is present as well。I learned a fair bit about them but a fair bit about Lauren Slater， which wasnt what I was after but still appreciated to an extent。 She's a very talented writer which saves the book， one feels at no point does ego override content， which wouldve been an easy slope to slip down。 If you want pure psych content go for a textbook instead， but good to get a different and emotional overview sometimes。 Not what I was after at all but I enjoyed it。 。。。more
Vanessa
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Eindrucksvoll！！Ich muss leider gestehen dass ich viele Monate an diesem Buch gelesen habe， da es schon ein Titel ist bei dem man sich etwas konzentrieren muss。 Zumindest ging es mir so。 Trotzdem war fast alles gut verständlich。 Es gab natürlich einige Wörter die ich nachschlagen musste。。。Das Buch liest sich an manchen Stellen wie ein Roman und ich finde den Aufbau des Buches sehr gelungen。 Schön war auch， dass man nicht nur von den Experimenten erfährt， sondern auch von den Menschen die dahinter Eindrucksvoll！！Ich muss leider gestehen dass ich viele Monate an diesem Buch gelesen habe， da es schon ein Titel ist bei dem man sich etwas konzentrieren muss。 Zumindest ging es mir so。 Trotzdem war fast alles gut verständlich。 Es gab natürlich einige Wörter die ich nachschlagen musste。。。Das Buch liest sich an manchen Stellen wie ein Roman und ich finde den Aufbau des Buches sehr gelungen。 Schön war auch， dass man nicht nur von den Experimenten erfährt， sondern auch von den Menschen die dahinter stehen。 Es hat mich viel zum Nachdenken angeregt。 Ein bisschen ärgere ich mich， da ich so viel von dem Inhalt schon wieder vergessen habe， obwohl ich es erst vor einigen Stunden beendet habe。 Es ist einfach viel Input und ich denke ich werde mir später nochmal die Namen der Experimente und deren Verantwortlichen anschauen um hoffentlich meine Synapsen dazu zu bewegen eine anhaltende Verknüpfung aufzubauen ;-） Das Buch ist auf jeden Fall empfehlenswert für Menschen die sich für psychologische Experimente interessieren oder auch für Psychologie Studenten！ Es kommen nämlich durchaus auch Experimente aus diesem Buch im Studium dran。 Aber selbst wenn man noch keine Erfahrung auf dem Gebiet hat， ist es durchaus interessant。 。。。more
CharleneIgnites
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You have to be interested enough in psychology to stay engaged， but not so interested that you expect too much。 I enjoyed a lot of this。 No regrets - except maybe wishing that it had been a （free） library book。
Mikael Sahleström
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TLDR: Another pop-psychology book to add to the shelf， with the tag: introduction to 20th century experimental psychology。 Would recommend the book as a thought experiment and a historical introduction。 Lauren goes through 10 fascinating， thought provoking experiments with her own personal touch。 As many others reviews state; she's not the best writer， neither the most convincing researcher。 But while she have her weak spots she manage to come with some great inputs。 1。 Great experiments from th TLDR: Another pop-psychology book to add to the shelf， with the tag: introduction to 20th century experimental psychology。 Would recommend the book as a thought experiment and a historical introduction。 Lauren goes through 10 fascinating， thought provoking experiments with her own personal touch。 As many others reviews state; she's not the best writer， neither the most convincing researcher。 But while she have her weak spots she manage to come with some great inputs。 1。 Great experiments from the 20th century that evoke great questions。 2。 Most experiments carries so many conclusions。 To show the reader both sides of some arguments is a great way to poke the curiosity for the reader to explore more。3。 A good conclusion that the field of psychology and pharmacology is not an accurate science which can be compared with。。。 well， science。 There is no "first law of psychology" which can be used as base for reasoning。 There are heaps of theories， and we can at best find some experiments that don't disprove them。 。。。more
Robert Jinga
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