The tell
Subtitle: the little clues that reveal big truths about who we are
By: Matthew Hertenstein
Publisher: Basic Books
Published: 2013
Language: eng
Number of pages: 268
ISBN-13: 9780465031658
Subjects: Human behavior; Forecasting; Body language; Psychological aspects
Description: "What does a yearbook photo have to do with future marital success? Can the CEO's appearance tell you anything about a company's quarterly earnings? In The Tell, psychologist Matthew Hertenstein reveals that our intuition is surprisingly good at using small clues to make big predictions, and shows how we can make better decisions by homing in on the right details. Drawing on rigorous research in psychology and brain science, Hertenstein explains how to hone our powers of observation to increase our predictive capacities. By training ourselves to read facial and bodily cues, we can accurately predict everything from divorce rates to sexual preferences, election results to the likelihood of corporate success. A charming testament to the power of the human mind, The Tell will, to paraphrase Sherlock Holmes, show us how to notice what we see"--

"Matthew Hertenstein shows that by training ourselves to read facial and bodily cues, we can learn the art of previsioning--the ability to predict the thoughts and behaviors of others in almost every aspect of our lives. Through cutting-edge research and stories, The Tell offers tools to significantly increase our perceptive acumen. This ability is hard-wired via Darwinian natural selection to a large degree; our stone-age minds have developed to allow us to make predictions in a modern world. In contrast to a recent spate of books in behavioral economics and psychology showing where we falter in decision making, The Tell shows us where we succeed, and how we can do better"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 185-253) and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction; title: In the beginning. Primitive predictions ; The genes in all of us ; Strange situations: growing up in a thin-sliced world; title: How we size up others. Who are you anyway? ; The targets of our attraction; title: Love and lies. From dating to mating ; Detecting deception; title: Making the grade: education, business, and politics. The power of enthusiasm ; Catching the cues of the cash cow ; Political punditry: any kid can do it; title: Conclusion: The importance of predictive humility.