Leave it to the field of social psychology for two such psychologists to write a book detailing some findings in social psch research that they say can make you the smartest person in the room. Social psychology is the elitist branch of psychology, or so this is my impression. Social psychologists certainly believe in their research and that they have some answers.
The authors must believe that the wisest person in the room knows what social psychologists know.
Eisenhower showed wisdom in talking to the troops before D-Day. P. 1
Wisdom is hard to define, yet we tend to know it when we see it. For sure there is a difference between wisdom and knowledge. P. 3
"What the wisest person in the room bears in mind in the face of such complexity is the Lewinian recipe: Make the actions you want to encourage easier, akin to moving downhill; make the actions you want to discourage more difficult, akin to moving uphill." P. 55
Once a person gets going in the desired direction, it's easier to keep going. The secret to achieve big things is to get the ball with small things, don't get distracted, and look for the motivation that comes from getting close to the end. P. 62
The fundamental attribution error occurs when people's actions are overestimated to be a reflection of the kind of people they are and situational influences are underestimated. P. 64
"It is natural---reflexive even---to see the causes of human action in the character and dispositions of those doing the acting. But as George Eliot noted at the end of Middlemarch, 'There is no creature whose inward being is so strong that it is not greatly determined by what lies outside it.' Thus, a truly wise person is a field theorist, withholding judgement until the nature of the surrounding situation is known and given careful consideration." P. 65
An important component of wisdom is perspective. The wisest in the room therefore toggles back and forth between different perspectives to get the most comprehensive view of a particular situation. P. 90
Framing---It's easier to live on 80% of your income than to save 20%. P. 91
Numerical framing can affect our perceptions and decisions. P. 92
I suppose one of the messages of this book is always look at the context of human behavior to fully understand it.
I decide not to finish this book. Social psychology research can be interesting but eventually it turns tedious and boring.
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