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Dangerous Instincts: How Gut Feelings Betray Us (2011)

by Mary Ellen O'Toole(Favorite Author)

3.33 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1594630836 (ISBN13: 9781594630835)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Hudson Street Press

review 1: I loved this book for its psychological insight. People so often think that "gut instinct" is reliable when in fact it is not. Psychopaths, for example, are experts at making a great first impression. They often have families, good jobs, and all the appearances of normalcy. There is nothing about them that would trigger a instinctual "gut reaction" of fear. This book is about using behavioral analysis to examine how people act to determine whether or not they should be trusted, and how to rely less on emotion and "instinct" and more on sound principles of subtly "interviewing" and observing people. I thought it was fascinating, albeit terrifying with its many horror stories of rape, murder, torture, etc because people trusted untrustworthy people. This book was written by ... morean FBI behavior analyst. Very thought-provoking and interesting.
review 2: O'Toole describes some of the cases she's worked on, which is interesting, but the main focus of the book is helping readers make decisions based on logic instead of emotion. She explains that many of us base decisions about whom we allow close to us based on superficial cues that are not meaningful in terms of real risk, and offers step-by-step instructions on making better decisions by thinking through all aspects of a situation. Many of the situations she explores are those that normal people make on a daily basis: Should you let your child spend the night at someone's house? Should you let a repair person into your home? Should you open the door to a stranger? I'm sure I will refer to this guide in the future. less

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