70 of 75 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting, but a few flaws, June 26, 2008
About: University of Texas at Austin psychology professor Gosling fancies himself a "snoopologist" and studies how people's belongings exhibit their personalities. While he believes belongings give clues to personality, he notes that it does not work for all folks in all situations. Personality is defined as "An individual's unique pattern of thinking, feeling, and behaving that is consistent over time." (pg 28). Gosling uses the Big 5 personality traits (Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism) to further break down the personalities he describes in the book and spends quite a bit of time going over the basics of these 5 traits. He discusses many studies of how certain behaviors and owned objects of humans fit these personality traits, and even analyzes the office of ABC News anchor Charles Gibson
Things I Thought Were Interesting:
* Only in extreme cases can you learn much from a person's refrigerator
* Formal dress tends to be a good indicator of conscientiousness
* People can match strangers to their cars better than chance
* Bedrooms, Facebook profiles and personal web sites tend to give reliable info on
personality
* Bedrooms of liberals tend to have a larger variety of books, music and art supplies, while conservatives have more flags, alcohol bottles and sports paraphernalia
* Male bedrooms have fewer photos of families and friends, closets that tend to be open with stuff on hooks and more hats and caps than female bedrooms
* In a job interview, dress and amount the applicant leans forward tends to give clues to job motivation
* A more personalized office means a higher commitment to the organization
* Maps in a space points to diverese interests and open-mindedness
Pros: Clear writing, sources cited (but not in-text), interesting "tidbits" of info found throughout
Cons: Parts read like a primer on social psychology and personality, which leaves too little room for talk about people's "stuff" and makes the book seem to be more about what humans do than what they own. People whose work he cites gave him blurbs for the book (tit for tat perhaps?)
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29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Droll, thought-provoking psychological exercise, November 11, 2008
Sam Gosling's book is an anti-materialist's nightmare--or is it? In a time when many are advocating that we "purge" our possessions and live "simpler" lives, "Snoop" is an amusing, clever, and occasionally unnerving brain teaser. It posits that we are, in fact, our stuff, and everything we wear, hang, collect, listen to, display, etc. says something revealing about us. (Even the way people arrange pictures in an office--facing a guest so as to impress, or facing the owner to provide reassurance/emotional nurturance--is significant.) Occasionally the book gets fairly scientific when measuring various psychological qualities (Neuroticism, Openness, etc.), but it's nothing that will throw anyone who's ever taken a Meyers-Briggs test. Gosling also analyzes "hoarders" and "emotional narcissists" who never throw anything away, and his conclusions are thought-provoking. And the charts analyzing different music listeners (gospel, rap, rock, etc.), and folks' stereotypes about these people based on their music choices, are real eye-openers. If anything, the book is too short; another chapter or two would've been pure gravy, especially if it dealt with the current trend of disposability, or "renting" rather than owning (as in people who only take CD's or DVD's out from the library rather than buying them). Some may also find the tone a bit facile, though I thought it was funny and clever (especially a chapter entitled "Knowing Me Knowing You" with several pointed ABBA jokes). Still, after I read this book, I couldn't walk into any room in my home without casting a critical eye at the art, the knick-knacks, the books, etc. It's the sort of book that may genuinely change the way you see yourself, as well as the world around you.
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53 of 59 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Mildly interesting - geared to a young audience, July 8, 2008
I enjoy pop psychology books but I found this book a little tedious and droning at times. Some thoughts were interesting, such as identifiers being geared to influence the opinion of others versus to reassure yourself, but because the test subjects were nearly all college students I, as a person over 40, didn't find much of interest for the world that I inhabit. The author did not acknowledge that college students and that time in a person's life is unlike the bulk of an average person's existence. College and young adulthood is a time of trying out new identities, supporting causes, and learning about new social ideals, and few demands made on your time by children, aging parents, and spouses. So while it's interesting to hear about how young adults decorate their dorm rooms and how that reflects their personality it would be more interesting (to me) to visit people out of the academic milieu and learn how to make educated guesses about their personalities.
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