Redirect

The Surprising New Science of Psychological Change

By: Timothy D. Wilson

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

Why might some sex education programs result in more teen pregnancies? Why did reading that self-help book make you feel less happy? What's the best way to recover from trauma? Can we actually improve our lives by redirecting our thinking?

We tell ourselves stories to make sense of the world. These stories ultimately determine if we will lead healthy, productive lives or get into trouble. Renowned psychologist Timothy Wilson proposes a radical new view: although these stories can be very hard to change, they can change - surprisingly quickly - if tweaked in the right way. He considers a broad range of problems, exposes failed attempts to solve them, and reframes them with new stories. Scientifically tested, his practical advice and simple techniques have been found to bring about real results including enhanced happiness, personal meaning, and social progress.

©2011 Original material © 2011 Timothy D. Wilson. (P)2011 (p) 2011 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

"There are few academics who write with as much grace and wisdom as Timothy Wilson. Redirect is a masterpiece." (Malcolm Gladwell)

"May well be the single most important psychology book ever written." (Daniel Gilbert, professor of psychology, Harvard University, author of Stumbling on Happiness)

New idea for me

This was my first introduction to the idea of story editing as a therapy. Made me want to know more.

Grover Gardner turns a dry book into a good listen

A fascinating look at human behavior and the intervention strategies we use to try to modify it. Grover Gardner's narration is, as always, top-notch and thoroughly professional. This book is a must read for sincere parents of children of any age.

I was hoping for more insight.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Little too much data and intepretation. More textbook than I would like. I like the series on 'reptile' and thought some of this might be related. It wasn't.

What could Timothy D. Wilson have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Make it more about the 'story' and the effects of 'redirecting.' I thought I would get more out of it.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Yes.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No. I barely finished it. I bought it for insight. . .didn't get a lot. I wanted value for what I could use in day to day experiences.

Any additional comments?

Didn't help me.

Insightful and backed by science.

Where does Redirect rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I'd say it's a very worthwhile read. As a new father to twins, I found the parenting science section to be particularly interesting. I don't review often, but I'd say this is in the top 5% of audiobooks I've listened to. I'm a 14 year member and I've accumulated just over 1000 titles, and I figure over half weren't worth the time (too much drivel).

You can control your kids with bribes, threats, or fear, but he makes a good case that the results are only superficial (although they work), until the child embraces the changes as his own. Bribe a kid to get A's, and they might do it, but they will not have learned to love learning, which will effect them as adults. There are numerous examples like this. And worse, bribes and threats can sometimes even backfire.

There are many good examples, including interventions that seem very reasonable, and common-sense says these interventions are good and productive, but science sometimes disagrees, giving you pause.

It's an intelligent book and kept me interested throughout.

In the top

Together with Subliminal, this book is in my top and I listened to it a couple of times. The whole mechanism of how well intentioned actions have bad consequences, has fascinated me and this books opens the door to how the mechanism of reward and punishments, create the internal narrative that has the opposite effect. "I must really dislike broccoli, when I need to be punished/rewarded to make me eat it"
Lots of good examples, experiments and explanations. Unfortunately there is always a hidden solicitation for a central planning job for such authors, as the fallacy that the monopoly of violence can do good with stolen tax money is a bridge to far to be debunked. So the author shows all the government programs that should reduce drugs use and violence and actually increased it, but he unfortunately comes with a plan to fix them. Once money is taken by force, it will never do any good afterwards.

Interesting read, but not much learned

Seems a bit redundant with other work on persuasion. I was interested in learning what narratives work best for people and how to develop those in your own life. This book, while I appreciate the scientific rigor, seemed to really only offer a few stories for very specific cases like teens you want to keep on straight and narrow or people who want to improve grades (but only if you are a minority considered bad at it). Not a lot of universal value. More for parents than others.

Interesting

What did you love best about Redirect?

I liked how the author pulled information and research from various areas to synthesis his premise.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not all in one sitting, but I did have a couple of driveway moments, where I sat in the driveway waiting to hear the end of the chapter.

An Interesting Premise, Ruined By Poor Execution

Wilson begins the book with strong anecdotal example and a good narrative. Alas, somewhere mid-book, he turns away from writing his own book, and inexplicably wastes a chapter on UN-writing someone else's. Where in the name of all that's holy was his editor's red pencil? As has been mentioned in previous reviews, had Wilson spent as much time supporting and bolstering his own psych data, and less trying to debunk others', this would have been a pretty solid win. In the end, merely mediocre.

Enlightening

I really enjoyed this book. It was an interesting view into how psychology can help and hurt us. I listen when I drive, I found that I was making excuses to drive places just to listen.

amazing social psychology book

I took a long brake but I'm happy I finished the book months later, I'm will recommending this book to friends and family