Beginning with B. F. Skinner and the legend of a child raised in a box, she takes us from a deep empathy with Stanley Milgram's obedience subjects ...
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Jan 10, 2010
David
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This is a fascinating, monumentally flawed, book. Its central conceit? Slater, a psychologist, "revisits" ten of the most (in)famous historical experiments conducted in psychology, work which has played a key role in establishing the prevailing dogma about human behavior. Each experiment gets its own chapter in the book.
Obviously, the success of this kind of gimmick depends critically on (a) the particular set of experiments chosen for inclusion, (b) the author's insight - More...
Obviously, the success of this kind of gimmick depends critically on (a) the particular set of experiments chosen for inclusion, (b) the author's insight - More...
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Apr 19, 2008
Nate
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this book was a great read for all those people watchers. The part I liked the most was when some university shut down a project some democrat dubbed "too dangerous and cruel to rats" because of poor ventilation and generally poor sanitary conditions, three days after it was shut down a new wing of student services moved in without any cleaning or maintenance on the building.
The author cleverly keeps your interest through wildly different chapters that each talk about so More...
The author cleverly keeps your interest through wildly different chapters that each talk about so More...
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Mar 06, 2011
Mandi
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Lauren Slater’s “Opening Skinner’s Box” is an insightful recounting of the ten most influential psychological experiments of the twentieth century. From B.F. Skinner to Harry Harlow, Slater outlines all the most important experiments, leaving out extraneous details but adding enough that it is still an enjoyable read. Each chapter is devoted to a description of the experiment, an anecdote about her own research into the experiment and its goals, and an expansion of the ideas and conclusions glea
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Jan 18, 2010
Katie
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I use this book in my developmental reading-writing-critical thinking course, and it's great for that context. Each chapter tells the story of a different psychology experiment of the 20th century, some well-known (Milgram), others more off-the-beaten path (Rat Park, an intriguing study of the causes of addiction). Slater interweaves the stories of the experiments with background on the authors, along with discussions of the controversies, debates, and ethical dimensions of the work. It has some
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May 11, 2009
Anya
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And that is pretty stunning--an experiment so potent it does not describe or demonstrate, so much as detonate, a kind of social psychology equivalent of the atom bomb, only this time in the service of creation, not destruction, for as Milgram himself said, "From these experiments comes awareness and that may be the first step toward change."
A monkey hung upside down in a dark chamber, unable to move, touch, or see. Rats plied with heroin in an idyllic rat paradise-on-Earth. More...
A monkey hung upside down in a dark chamber, unable to move, touch, or see. Rats plied with heroin in an idyllic rat paradise-on-Earth. More...
Sep 01, 2009
Kater
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I find it hard to believe the author's claim that she has interviewed many professional psychologists who had not heard of any of these experiments. From Skinner's famous rat pellet dispensing box to Harlow's monkey love experiment, this reads like the greatest hits of the 20th century experimental psychology. I knew half of them well, and had a passing familiarity with about 90 percent of them, but found the book still had surprises to offer.
While I loved the subject matter, I did More...
While I loved the subject matter, I did More...
Feb 13, 2011
Bjoernlars
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The positive thing about this book is that I was introduced to many different sociological experiments and the history of sociology. The stories were a nice overview that accessible to the reader and I did learn a lot.
With that being said, I feel that the author put way too much of her personal viewpoints into the writing that at times really detracted from the writing or even outright twisted the historically accuracy. In one passage she wrote [and I paraphrase], "How did Is More...
With that being said, I feel that the author put way too much of her personal viewpoints into the writing that at times really detracted from the writing or even outright twisted the historically accuracy. In one passage she wrote [and I paraphrase], "How did Is More...
Jan 17, 2011
Leslie
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I stumbled onto this book at the library and can't believe my luck. What a fascinating read! Slater gives vivid background info and gorgeous insight on infamous, barbaric psychological experiments - many we've heard about. (SEMI-SPOILER AHEAD) My favorite chapter was about the experiment where students were given the authority to shock another person when they answered a question incorrectly - and a majority of them ended up abusing their power and cranking up the voltage way beyond what they we
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May 15, 2009
Jamie
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The full title here is Opening Skinner's Box: Great Psychological Experiments of the Twentieth Century. Author Lauren Slater reviews 10 famous experiments from the various niches of psychology and attempts to understand them and their participants in new ways. It's really not very good.
And that's too bad, because these psychological experiments and the scientists involved with them are gold mines of fascinating stories --they're famous for a reason. Examples include getting average J More...
And that's too bad, because these psychological experiments and the scientists involved with them are gold mines of fascinating stories --they're famous for a reason. Examples include getting average J More...
Feb 08, 2010
Ella
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PS: If you _do_ read this book, make sure to get the updated/corrected (more recent) version.
my thoughts copy/pasted from discussion: Sure, Lauren Slater may be a loon (or worse, depending on who you read.) Nonetheless, I read this when it first came out in hardback & have bought at least 10 copies for other people since then. I don't much care that she plays fast & loose with some facts (but then, I'm not Deborah Skinner & I totally get her righteous anger.) Why not? B/c she does an exce More...
my thoughts copy/pasted from discussion: Sure, Lauren Slater may be a loon (or worse, depending on who you read.) Nonetheless, I read this when it first came out in hardback & have bought at least 10 copies for other people since then. I don't much care that she plays fast & loose with some facts (but then, I'm not Deborah Skinner & I totally get her righteous anger.) Why not? B/c she does an exce More...
Oct 21, 2007
daysgoby
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I really liked this book a lot more before I read a statement from Skinner's daughter denouncing the author and stating that (despite her protestations to the contrary) the author had never tried to contact her to verify statements...
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Jan 30, 2009
Jennifer
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Slater takes a look at some of the most famous psychological experiments in history in a series of reflective essays. They're not so much "histories" as free-floating reflections on ethics, memory, free will, but they're also well-researched and supported. Slater's writing style is deliberately anti-scholastic: engaging, allusive, poetic. The result is a fascinating mix of scientific fact, biographical detail, and philosophical contemplation. The essays on earlier theorists like S
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Oct 02, 2007
Elyssa
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An interesting overview of psychological experiments. This book takes psychology out of the self-help category of reading and places it in the clinical realm where it belongs.
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Nov 27, 2011
Ken
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Great survey of behavioral science experiments. If you only know about ten of them, this is a good ten to know. It glosses over some of the more questionable ethical problems that might be worth pursuing as a result of the experiments, and is a bit overly quick to apologize for some of the techniques used in the name of science. But while it is easy to criticize, the book also made me want them to go even further to push our understanding of the human mind. That would be a bad idea, and that
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May 05, 2010
Shiv
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An excellent book providing a quick description of some of the most important psychology experiments and case studies, setting them in a wider story to provide more context and background. Lauren Slater helps us get behind the scenes and get a glimpse into the mind of the experimenter, as well as showing some of the critical reactions to the experiments.
However her storytelling style can get occasionally overly florid, and some of her facts are suspect (for example her treatment of the Kit More...
However her storytelling style can get occasionally overly florid, and some of her facts are suspect (for example her treatment of the Kit More...
May 02, 2010
Stephanie
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Why do people willingly torture others? Is memory accurate? Why do people walk by some one who has been injured or is being beaten and not stop to help or even call the police? Is brain surgery a possible cure for mental illness? These and many other questions are examined in the experiments Slater describes in this book. She also does some of her own that validate nothing has changed since the original experiments were done. An entertaining introduction to many psychological experiments even me
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Jun 09, 2008
Shiloh
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This is a series of essays on the controversial psychological experiments of our time. My favorite so far is the experiment where 8 sane people attempted to be admitted to psychiatric hospitals in the sixties with the same previously undocumented complaint (a voice telling them "thud") and to otherwise tell the truth about themselves and behave normally. All eight were admitted and 7 of eight were diagnosed with "schizophrenia," the it mental illness of the time. The autho
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Dec 21, 2007
Tracey
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Checked out based on the review from A Common Reader's Spring 2004 catalog.
Lauren Slater explores nine relatively well-known psychological experiments/situations from the last century, digging into the histories of the men and women involved, as well as the repercussions of the experiments. She refers to her many sources in an endnotes section and has a reasonably comprehensive index.
The narrative starts with probably the best-known individual in the book: B.F. Skinner More...
Lauren Slater explores nine relatively well-known psychological experiments/situations from the last century, digging into the histories of the men and women involved, as well as the repercussions of the experiments. She refers to her many sources in an endnotes section and has a reasonably comprehensive index.
The narrative starts with probably the best-known individual in the book: B.F. Skinner More...
Oct 09, 2007
Adam
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This was more of a portrait of a sociopath than it was a review of psychological history.
Each chapter looks at a famous psychological experiment, like Harlow's monkeys raised in cages with wire dummies for mothers, or that experiment where people electrocuted people for failing spelling tests, and considers its implications for and effects on contemporary society and theories of what it is to be human.
The car crash bit is where Lauren Slater goes and pretty much re-enacts More...
Each chapter looks at a famous psychological experiment, like Harlow's monkeys raised in cages with wire dummies for mothers, or that experiment where people electrocuted people for failing spelling tests, and considers its implications for and effects on contemporary society and theories of what it is to be human.
The car crash bit is where Lauren Slater goes and pretty much re-enacts More...
Feb 20, 2007
Mark
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Lauren Slater writes up ten intellectually rubix-cubed koans of pyschological literature lore in what is a personal, dramatic, poetic, and thought-provoking style. Here's a taste (its true jewelry lost outside of the larger context, the last paragraph of a chapter):
How often have I, have you, heard a racial slur and said nothing in order to keep the peace? How often have I, have you, seen something wrong at work, maybe a mistreated colleague, and done nothing so your own job stays st More...
How often have I, have you, heard a racial slur and said nothing in order to keep the peace? How often have I, have you, seen something wrong at work, maybe a mistreated colleague, and done nothing so your own job stays st More...
Apr 07, 2007
Andi
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In Lauren Slater’s latest work of nonfiction Opening Skinner’s Box: Great Psychological Experiments of the Twentieth Century, she delves into great studies of infamous folks like Stanley Milgram - the man who tricked subjects into supposedly shocking other volunteers at lethal levels as a way to test obedience, Harry Harlow - who studied how monkeys responded to an inanimate monkey that was soft as opposed to a monkey who fed them, and Elizabeth Loftus - who scandalized the country in the 90s wi
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Sep 13, 2011
H. Ryan
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This book is nice in that she talks about these seminal and influential psychology experiments of the 20th Century in a narrative format, but this can also be annoying as she puts in her own two cents or embellishes some "facts" to increase the story.
With that disclaimer, I liked this book, not as the most accurate and unbiased presentation of the experiments, but because it was the opposite of stuffy and boring -- even if the author is a little bit crazy :).
With that disclaimer, I liked this book, not as the most accurate and unbiased presentation of the experiments, but because it was the opposite of stuffy and boring -- even if the author is a little bit crazy :).
Apr 29, 2009
Jessica
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This book explores 10 of the most controversial experiments in psychology's history. Slater takes a look at the situations surrounding the experiments and tries to take her readers into each situation. She includes quite a bit of detail about the experimenter behind their ideas, the experiment itself with the procedure and results, and then in most of her chapters Slater tries to re-create them to see if the results are the same in these "more modern" circumstances. There is some biasi
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Jul 07, 2011
Maureen
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I really liked this book. Slater is a terrific writer, and she blends personal voice and sensibilty here with a literary journalism approach to the greatest psychological experiments of the 20th century. It's fascinating reading, and Slater has the educational background to interpret these experiments and medical jargon, and the literary voice to transform then into compelling stories of human nature, psychology, history and the mind.
Dec 26, 2009
Chloe
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In this book, Slater reflects on 10 famous psychological experiments in a series of essays. While clearly well-researched, with fascinating raw subject matter to work with, this book is let down by the writer's awful flowery prose and grating personal reflections.
I did, however, find the chosen experiments interesting and engaging; and I've come away knowing more about Milgram, Skinner, Loftus et. al. than I did delving in.
I did, however, find the chosen experiments interesting and engaging; and I've come away knowing more about Milgram, Skinner, Loftus et. al. than I did delving in.
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Nov 24, 2011
Dave
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The raw material of this book deserves 5 stars. The ten experiments that Slater has selected tell stories of the human condition as effectively as any art. But the experience of reading the book is like being guided through the most fascinating museum by someone who laughs like hyena, bursts into tears at random intervals and occasionally pisses on the exhibits.
Aug 25, 2011
Alex
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It is absolutely astounding what leaps and bound have been made in the past century in the field of psychology. Lauren Slater is crazy and eccentric, yet writes in a very personable way, allowing the psychologists she studied to be seen as people rather than scientists. This book is eye-opening and fun to read, a challenge in the genre of non-fiction.
Jan 29, 2012
ich glaube, wenn man die zehn vorgestellten experimente aus vorlesungen und wissenschaftlichen texten kennt, ist es sehr interessant, sie nochmal von Lauren Slater nacherzählt zu bekommen und zu lesen, wie sie versucht Teilnehmer und Wissenschaftler aufzuspüren und sie teilweise Jahrzehnte später zu den bahnbrechendsten psychologischen Versuchen der Geschichte zu interviewen.
Die Autorin versucht manchmal ins lyrisch-poetische zu gehen, was ihr echt misslingt. Immerhin erfährt man mittendrin das More...
Die Autorin versucht manchmal ins lyrisch-poetische zu gehen, was ihr echt misslingt. Immerhin erfährt man mittendrin das More...
Apr 04, 2008
Cheri
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Since I was a psychology major in college and have worked in the college textbook industry specializing in psychology for the past several years, I was familiar with all of the experiments that Slater talked about in her book, but I still enjoyed walking down memory lane with them. And I did learn a bit more than I went in knowing , mostly about the experimenters’ personalities and personal lives. What I didn’t care for was Slater’s over-romanticizing of certain situations (her prose can get awa
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Dec 15, 2010
Ruth
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Very illuminating. As someone who has studied psychology and learned about many of the experiments in this book it was fascinating to learn about the background to them. Lots of details about the people behind the science helps to put it into context. I've read this book a few times and know I will go back to it again.
