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BOOK REVIEW 12 Simple Tests to
Discover Hidden Truths by Andrew N. Williams Perigee - March 2004 Reviewed by Dr. Jonathan Dolhenty
Ordinarily, I don't read and review
self-improvement books. I've read quite a few them
in the past and found most of them wanting. Sure,
now and then a decent self-help book will come off
the press and even I have found it helpful. Most of
them, however, are too much the same and intended
to either make the author a lot of money or create
a new fad, with some self-promoting guru raking in
the fame and fortune. |
How
Do You Compare? |
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So, when I was offered the opportunity to review How Do You Compare?, I was hesitant. I wasn't sure I'd be interested in what still another author had to say about improving oneself. But my curiosity was peaked when I learned that the book included twelve simple tests which were based on more complicated tests which had actually been developed and tested themselves by experts in the field of experimental psychology. Since I have a background in testing, evaluation, and quantitative analysis, plus have taken a number of courses in psychology at both the undergraduate and graduate level, I decided, what the heck, I'd read the book and maybe even write a review about it. How Do You Compare? is a very readable book and, in addition to the twelve tests provided, contains a lot of interesting information about the nature, history, and development of various types of evaluation, including intelligent tests, creativity tests, social skills tests, and personality tests in general. Spaced throughout the book, and making the adventure more enjoyable than usual for books in this genre, are cartoons related to the discussion at hand and textual tidbits providing the reader with little-known facts such as the relationship between Graham crackers and sexual behavior. I knew about that one, having heard about Dr. Graham many years ago, but I'd bet most people aren't aware of that peculiar, practically useless, yet very interesting, factoid. The structure of the book is very simple: get some background information about a part of your mind, take a little test to learn something about yourself, and then compare yourself to thousands of others who have taken the test. The tests are divided into three main sections and a final "big picture" questionnaire with the title, "How satisfied are you with your personality?" The first section includes a brief intelligence test and a test for creativity. The second section includes four tests or sets of questions to check up on your social skills. The third section, which deals with the subject of motivation, includes tests about happiness, cheerfulness, peak experiences, locus of control, and even, -- wouldn't you know it? -- a cheerfulness test for a friend to complete about you. Most people who take tests such as these are interested in three primary points: How did I score on the test?; What do my answers mean?; How did others score on the test? The author goes into some detail to help the reader, or in this case, the test-taker, deal with these questions. He raises a number of issues related to one's personality profile and suggests possibilities for self-improvement under headings like: Do you have a messy desk?; Can you buy creativity?; Do you drink for inspiration?; Is your date attractive at the end of the night?; and What is your happy life expectancy? -- intriguing questions, these, and the results of the research into them by behavioral scientists may surprise you. Of course, since the book is within the self-improvement genre, it must also provide some practical advice to help those who want indeed to improve themselves. This it does. At various places throughout the text, the author gives suggestions, both positive and negative, as to how to improve one's performance in life, including the eight ingredients for a successful relationship and, something even I was unaware of, the health benefits of kissing. All my life I thought it was just for fun! Now I know it's healthy, too! There is one brief discussion the author has in the book that I think especially stands out and I would hope that most of us would pay close attention to it. In the section dealing with intelligence and creativity, he lists what he calls the "creativity killers," those things we say to children, or fail to say, which can impact negatively on a child's ability to become a truly creative individual. As a former educator of young children, I can relate to the importance of this warning. As self-improvement books go, this one far outdistances most of them I've read. To the credit of the author, and to the advantage of the really serious reader, Williams includes citations for every research paper he mentions so they can be consulted and studied. He also provides an index to the major topics discussed, something not common to books of this type. Finally, I gladly recommend this book to all who want to learn more about themselves, about how they compare with others, and, above all, how they might go about improving their lives. If you're looking for a self-help book that is based on real scientific research, yet is interesting and fun to read, you'd be hard-pressed to find anything better right now.
12 Simple Tests to Discover Hidden Truths About Your Personality, by Andrew N. Williams
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