59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot (Borzoi Books) [Hardcover]

Richard Wiseman (Author)

Book Description

Release date: December 29, 2009 | Series: Borzoi Books

A psychologist and best-selling author gives us a myth-busting response to the self-help movement, with tips and tricks to improve your life that come straight from the scientific community.

Richard Wiseman has been troubled by the realization that the self-help industry often promotes exercises that destroy motivation, damage relationships, and reduce creativity: the opposite of everything it promises. Now, in 59 Seconds, he fights back, bringing together the diverse scientific advice that can help you change your life in under a minute, and guides you toward becoming more decisive, more imaginative, more engaged, and altogether more happy.

From mood to memory, persuasion to procrastination, resilience to relationships, Wiseman outlines the research supporting the new science of “rapid change” and, with clarity and infectious enthusiasm, describes how these quirky, sometimes counterintuitive techniques can be effortlessly incorporated into your everyday life. Or, as he likes to say: “Think a little, change a lot.”

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a self-help book, but with a difference: almost everything in it is underpinned by peer-reviewed and often fascinating research."
 — New Scientist

"For all those who are tired of the usual self-help formula--homespun anecdotes, upbeat platitudes, over-the-top promises--Richard Wiseman's 59 Seconds is just what the PhD ordered."
 — The Wall Street Journal

"Seemingly perfect for this age of short attention spans and instant gratification."
 — The Chronicle Herald

"At last, a self-help guide that is based on proper research. Perfect for busy, curious, smart people."
 — Simon Singh, author of Fermat's Enigma

“Wiseman is a brilliant name for a psychologist, and this book proves the professor is not misnamed. . . . [59 Seconds] contains dozens of fascinating and useful nuggets, and they all have science on their side.”
 — The Independent


From the Trade Paperback edition.

About the Author

Richard Wiseman is based at the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom and has gained an international reputation for research into offbeat areas of psychology, including deception, humor, and luck. He is the author of The Luck Factor, Quirkology, and numerous other books. A passionate advocate for science, Wiseman is well-known for his media appearances, high-profile talks, live demonstrations, and mass-participation studies. Wiseman also regularly acts as a creative consultant for print, broadcast, and new media.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Knopf (December 29, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307273407
• ISBN-13: 978-0307273406
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 1.3 x 7.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (77 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #227,868 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Richard Wiseman is Britain's only professor for the Public Understanding of Psychology and has an international reputation for his research into unusual areas including deception, luck, humour and the paranormal. He is the psychologist most frequently quoted by the British media and his research has been featured on over 150 television programmes in the UK. He is regularly heard on Radio 4 and feature articles about his work have appeared prominently throughout the national press.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

281 of 287 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Please drink a cup of coffee before reading this review July 11, 2009

By Julia Flyte TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

This is an easy and enjoyable book to read - the kind that you can dip in and out of, picking up interesting tips along the way. For each topic, Wiseman discusses a number of research experiments (both his own and ones done by others) and then gives a number of concrete suggestions on how you can quickly implement these findings (although 59 seconds is often a stretch). And why the title of this review? Because one of the things I learned from reading this book was the fact that if you've just had a caffeinated drink, you are far more likely to be swayed by someone else's opinion!

The book is based on the premise that quick techniques can sometimes be surprisingly effective at helping us to change and explains (based on research studies) which ones work and which don't. Some examples that I found interesting were:
- a simple five day writing exercise that can lift your mood for several weeks
- how to create the perfect plan to achieve almost any goal
- how spending money on experiences is a far more effective way to make yourself happy than spending it on things
- how punching a pillow to relieve anger actually increases your anger, while sitting quietly and thinking about how you benefited from the experience has the opposite effect
- conversational techniques that can build instant rapport on a first date
- exercises to stimulate the unconscious mind that lead to better decision making
- simple tests to assess your child's emotional intelligence.

Like Quirkology: The Curious Science of Everyday Lives, the book also has lots of facts that seem to have been included just because they're interesting. So we learn that people with bumper stickers are more aggressive drivers, that having a photo of a baby in your wallet significantly increases the chance of it being returned if you lose it, that your initials can influence your life expectancy and that adding plants to an office increases the number of creative ideas that employees will have.

The chapter list gives a good indication of the subjects covered in the book:
1. Happiness
2. Persuasion
3. Motivation
4. Creativity
5. Attraction
6. Stress
7. Relationships
8. Decision Making
9. Parenting
10. Personality

74 of 81 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars SO helpful, SO useful -- I am floored! January 14, 2010

By Fox in a Box

Format:Hardcover

Depressed? Overweight? Angry? Failed every which way but loose? No accident, my friend, but help is here. Pour a cup of tea, grab a comforter and thank god.

I have some grounding in the study of psychology and much of its clinical research over the past 20 years, and know that Wiseman knows whereof he speaks. In addition to my academic study, I've so many books on these subjects that at a garage sale starring my self-help library, someone asked me if I was a psychiatrist. No, I said, I'm just nuts.

Yes, it's true that Wiseman offers jokey (and political) asides that might annoy some readers, but that is nothing compared to the enormously helpful distillation of psychological research offered here and the ease of application to one's own life.

The book is well organized, well written and lucid. It explains in lay terms why common and familiar "self-help" directives simply don't work, have never worked and are really no more than endlessly reiterated (and successfully marketed)myths. He then prescribes remedies that not only work fast, but have been proven by scientific study to provoke lasting change. Some are counterintuitive, some make immediate sense, all are easier than I had any right to expect.

I was quite surprised, not only by how quickly Wiseman's recommendations work, but by the holding power of the changes that ensue. Good work, good book, badly needed and it's about time.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Advice with a background in Science, not BS. February 18, 2011

By kath

Format:Paperback

I appreciate this book on several levels.

The first, and most important to me, is that all of the advice has scientific studies to back it up. There are plenty of advice books out there who will tell you to do this or that, because it was something that worked for the writer, or it was something that just felt right to them, etc. etc. To me, someone who's been so inspired in their life to write a book without having read an advice book themselves doesn't really seem like the best person to be getting advice from. I'm much more comfortable putting into practice advice that's been drawn out of scientific studies, where every-day people are the test subjects, and the author has presented all of those studies for us to explore ourselves if we so choose (instead of just relying on hearsay).

The second is that the advice is straight forward and practical; there are simple steps to take to make huge changes. It really would only take a few seconds a day to try out the advice in the book, and you'll see changes in yourself and how others respond to you.

And finally, it's an easy read and not repetitive in nature. There are plenty of other advice books out there that will give you 400 pages to reiterate what could be summed up in a paragraph or two; this book is just the opposite. Even if you're not in it for the advice, it's still a fascinating read. I've been inspired to look to the appendix and find out more about several of the studies listed in the book.

In the end, I learned a lot from this book, not just what actions to practice more in my own life, but so much about human nature as a whole.