I'll Have What She's Having: Mapping Social Behavior

by R. Alexander Bentley, Mark Earls, Michael J. O'Brien

How we learn from those around us: an essential guide to understanding how people behave.

Humans are, first and foremost, social creatures. And this, according to the authors of I'll Have What She's Having, shapes--and explains--most of our choices. We're not just blindly driven by hard-wired instincts to hunt or gather or reproduce; our decisions are based on more than "nudges" exploiting individual cognitive quirks.

I'll Have What She's Having shows us how we use the brains of others to think for us and as storage space for knowledge about the world. The story zooms out from the individual to small groups to the complexities of populations. It describes, among other things, how buzzwords propagate and how ideas spread; how the swine flu scare became an epidemic; and how focused social learning by a few gets amplified as copying by the masses. It describes how ideas, behavior, and culture spread through the simple means of doing what others do.

It is notoriously difficult to change behavior. For every "Yes We Can" political slogan, there are thousands of "Just Say No" buttons. I'll Have What She's Having offers a practical map to help us navigate the complex world of social behavior, an essential guide for anyone who wants to understand how people behave and how to begin to change things.

Genres: Psychology, Sociology, Nonfiction, Society

160 pages, Hardcover

First published September 8, 2011

Reviews

[Misse Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the age of social media and networking, this was a really good book that delves into social influence. I liked that it was a shorter read and precisely to the point.

[Victoria Zabuzova · Rating 2 out of 5]

Easy to read, but not quite sure why. Maybe if one haven't read anything on subject of trends, innovation diffucion hypothesis or admire Gladwell, than sure.

[Monica Willyard Moen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book explains how social learning affects our choices, perceptions, and behavior.

[Eduardo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Siempre nos han hablado de la originalidad pero nunca de cómo debemos copiar.

Este libro muestra algunos ejemplos de cómo los humanos trascendemos a partir de copiar a otros.

[Scott E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somehow comes across as very surface level in terms of depth while at the same time being rather esoteric. Enjoyable and passes the time but there are far better books out there on the same subject

[Kate Millin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book a little confusing when it went into the detail of its theories. However overall it was very interesting. I am hoping I will remember the issues around what I need to do to promote changes in behaviour and attitude in my staff team when managing major change programmes in the future.

[Alexi Parizeau · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is structured to ease the reader inch by inch towards what is arguably a very complex idea. And it does so without jargon or academic posturing. I'm absolutely amazed by how effortless they made it look. Just brilliant work (and great thesis too!)

[Parikshit Joshi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly recommended for social scientists, not for hobbyist reader.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read. Not too long, but it does go into a fascinating amount of detail. Their sources make for interesting reading, too.

[Kevin]

Brilliant and deeply intelligent. Summary at: http://greatesthitsblog.com/category/...