Redirect: The Surprising New Science of Psychological Change [Hardcover]

This is not really a book on what I consider "psychological" change but rather a book on "social" change. The difference being change yourself or change society. I thought this would be a book on personal change. Not so. I found the subtitle somewhat deceiving, "The surprising new science of psychological change". I should be, "The surprising new science of social change". I bought the book when it just came out, before you were able to look "inside" the book on Amazon. If I had seen the chapter headings I would not have bought it; Reducing Prejudice, Reducing Alcohol and Drug Abuse, Reducing Teenage Violence, Preventing Teenage Pregnancies, etc. All worthy subjects but not subjects that directly apply to changing yourself. The only personal use from this book that I found was in the first chapter, which is also the title of the book, "Redirect". In it Wilson talks about "story editing" (tell yourself a different story), "story prompting" (someone else tells you a different story) and "do good be good" (acting like the change before the change occurs). This didn't seem very new and what I've pretty much found in other self help books, reprogram the beliefs in your mind, and "be within when you're without", "act the part before you can be the part" in other words, act like what you want to become and that's what you will become.

This review is not totally fair. Although it's not the book I thought it would be, if you approach it knowing it's directed at social change, then it's worth reading. The strong suite of the book is the research documentation. You also have to credit Wilson with standing up for the research that says popular programs such as D.A.R.E (drug program in schools) and CISD (Critical Incident Stress Debriefing) and some other such methods and programs don't work, then telling you what research has shown does work. Another strong point of the book is that at the end of each chapter he has a section called "Using It" where he tells you how you can use the information that was presented in the chapter.

If you want to change others or the world, this book may be for you. If you want to change yourself, look elsewhere.

In "Redirect," Timothy Wilson focuses on psychological strategies of changing one's way of viewing life and re-directing their thought processes to become more optimistic. Popular strategies that Wilson uses in his book include story-editing (which is refocusing one's view on a particular problem: e.g. the student who attributes his failed test to being stupid, versus a student who attributes his failed test to not enough studying--as a basic example of this premise), using writing as a way of coming to terms with a problem, and much more.

Besides discussing the actual strategies, Wilson devotes many chapters to problems where they may be well utilized. Chapters cover a slew of social problems such as underage violence, teen pregnancies, racial discrimination, drug and alcohol abuse, becoming better parents, and closing the achievement gap between students. While the initial portion of the book focuses on increasing one's personal well-being, the majority of the book is focused on addressing these popular problems by implementing Wilson's strategies.

Overall, I found Wilson's book to be an interesting and useful guide to re-framing one's way of viewing the world. An important thought that Wilson mentions in his book is that positive thoughts alone don't mean anything--it is positive behavior that ultimately makes the changes. However, positive behavior is unlikely to come about without positive thoughts. And re-framing one's way at looking at things, is the only way that positive thoughts can come about. I found the book to be both helpful and informational.

This is a very challenging book to review: after all, it's written by a prominent university professor, endorsed by many other professors, and given superlative reviews here at Amazon.com, where (inexplicably) it is described as a extraordinary masterpiece capable of personal transformation of the reader. Moreover, one of the recurring messages of the book is that the author wields the power of scientific study, with the implication that the rest of us are unqualified to disagree since we're incapable of conducting randomized studies of our own from the comfort of our living rooms. Therefore, I go out on a limb a bit with this negative review, so I ask for some indulgence from the reader as I proceed.

Perhaps it is not entirely Timothy Wilson's fault that his book has been hideously misrepresented and grossly overhyped in the Amazon.com review,but the same unjustified and fulsome paean of praise appears on the back and inside covers of the book itself, and that's the reason I bought and read the book, but the bottom line is that this is an abysmal book for anyone looking for guidance as to personal change, although it serves well as a readable, though incomplete, social psychology textbook. In short, many readers such as myself have been "misdirected" into buying copies of "Redirect." Here's why.

Most psychotherapists practice the techniques of "cognitive therapy" (sometimes referred to as "cognitive-behavioral therapy"), a method of counseling intended to reduce or "reframe" the patient's negative, crippling, disempowering views of themselves and their worlds. You need to be a licensed mental health professional to practice cognitive therapy. Academics and social scientists who are not licensed cannot practice therapy, but the author here describes the same methods as cognitive therapy under the label "story editing" (alternatively at times "story prompting"). "Story editing" is not really very different from "cognitive therapy" as the author himself acknowledges on page 13 of the book; rather it is the non-clinical equivalent of cognitive therapy for those not licensed to practice therapy. Thus, the reader interested in personal change is better off 'redirected' to books about cognitive therapy. Read this book only if you want to read about how to address societal ills such as teen pregnancy, campus drinking, social prejudice, and how to deter at-risk youths from delinquency. Most of the book is about these social problems, and very little is about personal change and transformation. If you bought this book based on the lavish reviews looking for personal insight, you probably felt, as I did, ripped off once you got into the meat of it and realized you were reading hundreds of pages of studies of the efficacy of social intervention programs.

After an introductory chapter, there is a chapter describing the experimental method to lay persons. This chapter on scientific methodology will be irrelevant to individuals already trained in science, and rather tedious to untrained individuals. This chapter is also problematic in that it conveys the message that only those who conduct randomized scientific studies may judge which programs are worthwhile and which are not. I won't take a position arguing against scientific inquiry, but I do note that from this point on, Wilson has established himself as the authority on how to cure society's ills and anyone who dares to disagree is implicitly labeled as speaking from bias or ignorance. After this tedious chapter, there are the following chapters, with the author's primary recommendations, for anyone interested in pursing the details in the book itself:

Achieving personal happiness: Wilson recommends that you find personal meaning in your life (p.49) and that you make a lot of friends in order to build strong social connections (p.51). Of course, neither of these recommendations are original.

Raising healthy kids: the author recommends that you: don't label your kids, don't spoil them with material things, and be sure to praise them when they make an effort at things (p.102).

The problem of teen pregnancy: encourage community service work because girls who get involved in volunteer work feel better about themselves and don't need to get pregnant to feel that way (p.131).

Campus alcohol abuse: college kids drink primarily because they overestimate how much other kids drink, which gives them encouragement and permission to drink more themselves (p.168).

Juvenile delinquency: keep at-risk kids away from other at-risk kids (p.153).

Social and racial prejudice: treat all people as equals (p.199) and include minorities in photo shoots for company newsletters (p.233).

In sum, what is interesting in this book is not new, and re-labeling cognitive therapy as "story editing" does not in any sense make a unique or valuable contribution to the clinical psychology or self-help literature. The reviews and hype implying that this book is a valuable contribution toward achieving personal insight and growth are, in my opinion, misleading. Those looking for the latter might consider instead Martin Seligman's "Learned Optimism" or "Authentic Happiness", or Michigan State University's Gershen Kaufman's books on building self-esteem and 'personal power.' I am sure I will be unceremoniously castigated for disagreeing with academia but these are my views and I'm sticking with them!

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 24 reviews  4.3 out of 5 stars