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Not by Chance Alone: My Life As a Social Psychologist
How does a boy from a financially and intellectually impoverished background grow up to become a Harvard researcher, win international acclaim for his groundbreaking work, and catch fire as a pioneering psychologist? As the only person in the history of the American Psychological Association to have won all three of its highest honors—for distinguished research, teaching, and writing— Elliot Aronson is living proof that humans are capable of capturing the power of the situation and conquering the prison of personality.A personal and compelling look into Aronson€™s profound contributions to the field of social psychology, Not by Chance Alone is a lifelong story of human potential and the power of social change.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published July 28, 2010
30 people are currently reading
555 people want to read
About the author
Elliot Aronson
97 books257 followersElliot Aronson (Born January 1932) is listed among the 100 most eminent psychologist of the 20th Century, best known for his Jigsaw Classroom experiments, cognitive dissonance research, and bestselling Social Psychology textbooks. He is the only person in the 120-year history of the American Psychological Association to have won all three of its major awards: For distinguished writing (1973), for distinguished teaching (1980), and for distinguished research (1999). In 2007 he received the William James Award for Distinguished Research from APS.
Aronson has taught at Harvard University, the University of Minnesota, the University of Texas, and the University of California, Santa Cruz. He is the recipient of many honors. He was chosen by his peers as one of the 100 most influential psychologists of the 20th century, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and won the prestigious William James Award from the Association for Psychological Science for his lifetime achievements. He has won distinguished research awards from a variety of professional organizations, including the American Psychological Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Society of Experimental Social Psychologists, and others. He also won the Gordon Allport Prize for his work on reducing prejudice. In 1982 he was named "Professor of the Year" by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education.
Aronson has taught at Harvard University, the University of Minnesota, the University of Texas, and the University of California, Santa Cruz. He is the recipient of many honors. He was chosen by his peers as one of the 100 most influential psychologists of the 20th century, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and won the prestigious William James Award from the Association for Psychological Science for his lifetime achievements. He has won distinguished research awards from a variety of professional organizations, including the American Psychological Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Society of Experimental Social Psychologists, and others. He also won the Gordon Allport Prize for his work on reducing prejudice. In 1982 he was named "Professor of the Year" by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
March 11, 2014
Good autobiography, should be 3.5 stars. I don't read a lot of biographies, particularly autobiographies - I usually find them too self-congratulatory and full of anecdotes and stories that may (or may not) be interesting but that are ultimately meaningless and/or irrelevant. But I've really admired Aronson's writings, and thought this book worth a try. I was amply rewarded. Aronson traces his intellectual development over the years, as well as his interactions with other major players in his field. Aronson does a good job of relating life experiences that helped shape his intellectual odyssey, and avoiding a lot of the meaningless details I mentioned above. A humbleness also came through that I really liked. The book does provide a summary of some of the major theories that Aronson contributed to, and it give a good glimpse of what the experimental process is about, but if you want an education in social psychology, this would not be the book. In fact, if you're not already familiar with social psychology in general, and some of Aronson's work in particular, you might not like this book - it might be better to become acquainted with that material first before you could fully appreciate this book.
September 27, 2022
Didn't finish, but like resonates with his beliefs, and enjoy reading his words. Will open it here and there.
September 4, 2016
I read this book over the duration of a few days. I picked this book up after reading a few chapters of "The Social Animal" by Aronson. I enjoyed his writing in both, to say the least. I was, and continue to be, hungry for personal insight into the world of academia, which I've had little of with the exception of speaking with a few professors. This book satisfied my appetite for the time being.
I enjoyed Aronson's approach to his own biography.
As he notes in his introduction, there seem to be two ways to write an autobiography
1. "To take credit for every good outcome". "I was smart enough to..."
2. "To attribute everything to the vicissitudes of chance". "I have been incredibly lucky that..."
Aronson seems have the maturity and clarity in making attributions about turning points in his life, and whether they were due to chance, ambition, or an amalgamation of the two.
Aronson's biography is mostly chronological/linear, although, when appropriate, he inserts old stories and anecdotes. His stories of the supposedly notorious, Leon Festinger, primarily known for cognitive dissonance theory and social comparison theory, are very entertaining and helpful in elucidating how Aronson became the man/social psychologist he is. They also shed light on the wide influence Festinger had on Cognitive/Social Psychology. Apparently Festinger was not seeing the implications of Dissonance theory on the Self, for some time.
To my slight surprise, Aronson knew a few people I have had an interest in.
Foremost, Dick Alpert (Baba Ram Dass) and Timothy Leary when they were at Harvard, when Aronson was acting as Assistant-Professor (in his late 20's, I might add). I have listened to many hours of Ram Dass' lectures, thanks to YouTube, and Aronson's stories paint the picture of a sociable, ambitious Dick, trying to attain tenure at Harvard. Apparently, due to Aronson's staunch advocacy of experimental methodology, Dick and Timothy were disappointed when he mentioned confounds in their proposed study of administering the newly synthesized psilocybin to university students. As it turned out, they continued along their route and went ahead with this. It should be noted, it was Dick (future Baba) who showed Aronson the best place to grab a Martini around Cambridge, along with other "important" sites.
He was also spatially familiar with the novelist Jack Ludwig, who had an affair with the 2nd wife, Sondra, of another novelist, Saul Bellow. Jack had been a frequent guest-lecturer. It seems Jack shared some characteristics with the character "Valentine Gerbasch" in Bellow's novel "Herzog"; Jack had a "club foot" while Valentine had a wooden leg, Jack slept with Bellow's wife while Valentine slept with the wife of Herzog's main character, Moses Herzog. To boot, Bellow and his wife had gone to couples therapy with a Paul Meehl, an associate of Aronson, before divorcing.
Aronson mentions some interesting trends over his academic life. One being the issue of labels and perspective; Aronson, against the idea of segregated schooling, was called, and I'm paraphrasing, a black-lover. Later on, when Aronson supported the right (not necessarily his conclusions) of a researcher, Arthur Jensen, to present ideas on racial differences in IQ, he was labelled a racist. Other stories similar to this, are mentioned.
In summation, this book was very enjoyable to read. Aronson seems to have exhibited a lot of rationality at historical moments where there seemed to be little. This approach traversed contentious themes; sexual assault policies on campus, segregation/racism, rampant anti-semitism, sexism in the work place. I would recommend this book to any 3rd/4th year student thinking about going to graduate school. Even more so, if they had an interest in the people at the major Psychology departments during the 20th century, or if they had a specific interest in Social Psychology.
I imagine I will re-read this at some point in the near future.
I enjoyed Aronson's approach to his own biography.
As he notes in his introduction, there seem to be two ways to write an autobiography
1. "To take credit for every good outcome". "I was smart enough to..."
2. "To attribute everything to the vicissitudes of chance". "I have been incredibly lucky that..."
Aronson seems have the maturity and clarity in making attributions about turning points in his life, and whether they were due to chance, ambition, or an amalgamation of the two.
Aronson's biography is mostly chronological/linear, although, when appropriate, he inserts old stories and anecdotes. His stories of the supposedly notorious, Leon Festinger, primarily known for cognitive dissonance theory and social comparison theory, are very entertaining and helpful in elucidating how Aronson became the man/social psychologist he is. They also shed light on the wide influence Festinger had on Cognitive/Social Psychology. Apparently Festinger was not seeing the implications of Dissonance theory on the Self, for some time.
To my slight surprise, Aronson knew a few people I have had an interest in.
Foremost, Dick Alpert (Baba Ram Dass) and Timothy Leary when they were at Harvard, when Aronson was acting as Assistant-Professor (in his late 20's, I might add). I have listened to many hours of Ram Dass' lectures, thanks to YouTube, and Aronson's stories paint the picture of a sociable, ambitious Dick, trying to attain tenure at Harvard. Apparently, due to Aronson's staunch advocacy of experimental methodology, Dick and Timothy were disappointed when he mentioned confounds in their proposed study of administering the newly synthesized psilocybin to university students. As it turned out, they continued along their route and went ahead with this. It should be noted, it was Dick (future Baba) who showed Aronson the best place to grab a Martini around Cambridge, along with other "important" sites.
He was also spatially familiar with the novelist Jack Ludwig, who had an affair with the 2nd wife, Sondra, of another novelist, Saul Bellow. Jack had been a frequent guest-lecturer. It seems Jack shared some characteristics with the character "Valentine Gerbasch" in Bellow's novel "Herzog"; Jack had a "club foot" while Valentine had a wooden leg, Jack slept with Bellow's wife while Valentine slept with the wife of Herzog's main character, Moses Herzog. To boot, Bellow and his wife had gone to couples therapy with a Paul Meehl, an associate of Aronson, before divorcing.
Aronson mentions some interesting trends over his academic life. One being the issue of labels and perspective; Aronson, against the idea of segregated schooling, was called, and I'm paraphrasing, a black-lover. Later on, when Aronson supported the right (not necessarily his conclusions) of a researcher, Arthur Jensen, to present ideas on racial differences in IQ, he was labelled a racist. Other stories similar to this, are mentioned.
In summation, this book was very enjoyable to read. Aronson seems to have exhibited a lot of rationality at historical moments where there seemed to be little. This approach traversed contentious themes; sexual assault policies on campus, segregation/racism, rampant anti-semitism, sexism in the work place. I would recommend this book to any 3rd/4th year student thinking about going to graduate school. Even more so, if they had an interest in the people at the major Psychology departments during the 20th century, or if they had a specific interest in Social Psychology.
I imagine I will re-read this at some point in the near future.
December 19, 2013
A fantastic read not only for psychologists. The author describes his life in a smart and witty way showing how apparently insignificant events led him to find his purpose and meaning in life. It offers also some interesting insight into the academic work at different universities ( e.g. Harvard being a disappointment)during a period of big cultural changes ( caused by Vietnam war, civil rights' movement, feminism). It was so well written that I didn't even mind reading for the tenth time about the best known psychological experiments. A totally recommendable book :)
April 25, 2021
Elliot Aronson isn't a particularly familiar name to me, although I bought this book because I wanted to know more about psychology in America, a long-standing interest.
To be honest, it lay fallow on my bookshelves for a couple of years, until yesterday, when I picked it up randomly and it seemed like something accessible and worth reading on a quiet Saturday. I finished it last evening with the football on mute.
The book is written in a friendly, open style, beginning with his family origins in poverty of various kinds: finance, housing, parenting/family, where the shining light is his older brother, who in many ways explains the world to him and whose approach to him is very different to the negativity of his broader family.
Aronson describes himself as a shy boy, and returns to that label near the end of the book, notwithstsnding his discovery as a teenager that he could express himself in a role and enjoy it. Later, this develops into his enjoyment of teaching, which fits into his idea that it's not who who are, but more who you want to be.
As a similarly shy person who found a similar kind of teaching enjoyable, I resonated with this part of his story, although I'm more inclined to be a "who you are" person as far as phrases go, which doesn't mean that you reject opportunities or possibilities, although it does mean that you find some of these not what you want to do.
Interestingly, Aronson depicts this perspective in particular ways in his academic career, where he describes various aspects of studying and teaching at some of America's finest universities, as well as smaller colleges. This is not only related to what he wants to do (or doesn't want to do) but also whether he feels welcome. Two aspects to this are his lower class origins, and anti-Semitism, which is a quiet although significant theme in the book.
There's also family, and much of the book relates to the family he creates with his wife and children, an obvious sense of pride. This appears a family of equals, and he also tells the reader of his difficulties in the relationship, where his only role model was the interactions between his parents, involving negative aspects of language, shouting and bullying. To me, this is a story about finding yourself, and also, who you want to be.
Aronson spends some time reflecting on his family of origin and on his father, who died at 47, mentioning that he didn't know much about him, and never had a chat with him about who he was, what he had done, what he thought and so on. I found this compelling, as I had also never had a sit-down chat with my father, and a couple of decades after his death rue that fact.
The subtext of the book is about Aronson's life as a social psychologist, and here he takes the reader into the world of academic psychology and its competing perspectives as well as his interactions with colleagues and superiors, some of whom were mentors e.g. Leon Festinger; David McClelland; Gordon Allport; Jerome Bruner, even Timothy Leary. These stories made me want to search out various books and articles.
He also writes about his work with T-Groups, or encounter groups, something I had a little experience with as a participant. His descriptions here and also with the experiments he developed are interesting, although I'm not experimentally inclined other than observing what goes on in a room in particular circumstances. There's also a number of comments about gender and the difficulty of women being seen as equals in various places and society. Some examples of narrow thinking are also presented, in this context and others.
At the end, the author informs us that he has gradually lost his sight, which made me think about my own limitations there, although a far cry from his experience.
This is a book that was a pleasure to read, one that I didn't want to put down. It's open and modest, the author makes no claims to grandiosity, and in some respects is expressing his good fortune in relationships, family, profession and the people he's met and worked with.
To be honest, it lay fallow on my bookshelves for a couple of years, until yesterday, when I picked it up randomly and it seemed like something accessible and worth reading on a quiet Saturday. I finished it last evening with the football on mute.
The book is written in a friendly, open style, beginning with his family origins in poverty of various kinds: finance, housing, parenting/family, where the shining light is his older brother, who in many ways explains the world to him and whose approach to him is very different to the negativity of his broader family.
Aronson describes himself as a shy boy, and returns to that label near the end of the book, notwithstsnding his discovery as a teenager that he could express himself in a role and enjoy it. Later, this develops into his enjoyment of teaching, which fits into his idea that it's not who who are, but more who you want to be.
As a similarly shy person who found a similar kind of teaching enjoyable, I resonated with this part of his story, although I'm more inclined to be a "who you are" person as far as phrases go, which doesn't mean that you reject opportunities or possibilities, although it does mean that you find some of these not what you want to do.
Interestingly, Aronson depicts this perspective in particular ways in his academic career, where he describes various aspects of studying and teaching at some of America's finest universities, as well as smaller colleges. This is not only related to what he wants to do (or doesn't want to do) but also whether he feels welcome. Two aspects to this are his lower class origins, and anti-Semitism, which is a quiet although significant theme in the book.
There's also family, and much of the book relates to the family he creates with his wife and children, an obvious sense of pride. This appears a family of equals, and he also tells the reader of his difficulties in the relationship, where his only role model was the interactions between his parents, involving negative aspects of language, shouting and bullying. To me, this is a story about finding yourself, and also, who you want to be.
Aronson spends some time reflecting on his family of origin and on his father, who died at 47, mentioning that he didn't know much about him, and never had a chat with him about who he was, what he had done, what he thought and so on. I found this compelling, as I had also never had a sit-down chat with my father, and a couple of decades after his death rue that fact.
The subtext of the book is about Aronson's life as a social psychologist, and here he takes the reader into the world of academic psychology and its competing perspectives as well as his interactions with colleagues and superiors, some of whom were mentors e.g. Leon Festinger; David McClelland; Gordon Allport; Jerome Bruner, even Timothy Leary. These stories made me want to search out various books and articles.
He also writes about his work with T-Groups, or encounter groups, something I had a little experience with as a participant. His descriptions here and also with the experiments he developed are interesting, although I'm not experimentally inclined other than observing what goes on in a room in particular circumstances. There's also a number of comments about gender and the difficulty of women being seen as equals in various places and society. Some examples of narrow thinking are also presented, in this context and others.
At the end, the author informs us that he has gradually lost his sight, which made me think about my own limitations there, although a far cry from his experience.
This is a book that was a pleasure to read, one that I didn't want to put down. It's open and modest, the author makes no claims to grandiosity, and in some respects is expressing his good fortune in relationships, family, profession and the people he's met and worked with.
November 26, 2020
An amazing autobiography of Aronson. This book includes a brief biography of his greater mentors as well as greatest psychologists. The author acknowledged that something lucky happened to him. Otherwise, it was almost impossible for him to attend a lecture on the Introductory Psychology of Maslow, which he had once thought not practical. Only after the lecture did he find himself interested in psychology so much. The opportunity to work with McCelland was offered by Maslow and it was Vera, his future wife at that time, who informed of this great opportunity.
I think it may be the correctest decision in his life that the author didn't take his uncle's advice, which proved to be completely wrong. This should be thanks to his brother, who believed that the author did deserve a good education, and himself, who knew what he wanted to be in the future.
After the author became a social psychologist, he demonstrated how he designed experiments and made a great contribution to the theory of cognitive dissonance. And he really did a great work not only being a researcher, but also being an excellent father and husband. His wife supported his decisions and his children were proactive in expressing their affections and emotions.
I think it may be the correctest decision in his life that the author didn't take his uncle's advice, which proved to be completely wrong. This should be thanks to his brother, who believed that the author did deserve a good education, and himself, who knew what he wanted to be in the future.
After the author became a social psychologist, he demonstrated how he designed experiments and made a great contribution to the theory of cognitive dissonance. And he really did a great work not only being a researcher, but also being an excellent father and husband. His wife supported his decisions and his children were proactive in expressing their affections and emotions.
December 29, 2022
The themes weaved through the narrative arc, and the introspection of the narrator elevate this book above most autobiographies. The writing style is also effortlessly witty and masterfully crafted. The only thing that brings it down a couple of stars is the author's lack of introspection when it comes to ethics of his experiments and interpersonal behavior in general. He justifies the experiments by saying that nobody complains after discovering that they were a subject, which is ironic considering that he has the expertise exactly to understand that being OK is not the only reason people may not be giving criticism. Inappropriate physical contact and patronising behavior in the work place is also excused or even lauded. I found myself wincing at some stuff that he describes fondly, which is NOT OK today, like stimulating emotional discomfort in children (furthermore apparently without the care givers consent), subjecting people to emotionally traumatic experiments, doing experiments on people without their consent and inappropriate physical contact between staff and students.
October 28, 2020
I don’t rate many of my completed books because it’s too reductionist to my mind. There are so many reasons I might like a book but my reasons may not be the same as yours. Occasionally, however, I read a book that is so good on many levels and I think contains enough truth that I do want others to know. Elliot Aronson’s memoir is one of those. His attitude toward life, his love of his older brother, his respect for his wife, and his brilliant scientific mind all conspire to make a great tale that confirms a life well lived. I hope you enjoy it too!
October 21, 2020
What a wonderful life! I really love this book, enjoyed it so much that I couldn't stop turning the pages. When reading it I couldn't help thinking: if I had the chance to read it 10 years ago, my life would be different...Aronson is a very engaging story teller, a resilient gifted student, a warm-hearted scientist and a powerful teacher. I have found great warmth, honesty, knowledge, insight and wisdom from this book, highly recommended!
January 3, 2022
I don't usually read biographies, especially autobiographies. But this is one of the best that I have read. It's a page-turner as Elliot shared his life story with us in a humourous and yet thought-provoking way. His choice of psychology as his major, as well as Dick Alpert chose to be a spiritual leader after traveling to India, make us think what is our calling of life and what our fate will be.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 14, 2018
Liked it; i learned a great deal; i don't have the structured mind that a social scientist has; but i liked all of the author's accounts; think he lived in a fertile time and impacted many lives; i read a lot; so familiar with a lot of names; i found his determination, perseverance, and commitments to every aspect of this life wonderful.
October 20, 2020
I stumbled upon this interview with Aronson (https://myretirementworks.com/tag/ell...) and thought it was so well written I must check out his autobiography. His prose is so inviting and light and my favorite subject to read about is social psychology. So between how kind sounding he is in his words, I got to learn more about the experiments, trials, and tribulations that made up his life.
His life is one like all of our, ups, downs, twists, corkscrews. Life is all about luck and the hard work you put into it.
His life is one like all of our, ups, downs, twists, corkscrews. Life is all about luck and the hard work you put into it.
December 31, 2020
Klimat jak w „Pan raczy żartować Panie Fayneman”.
January 14, 2022
A wonderful memoir written by a humble and noble man.
April 23, 2023
没完全看完，大概翻了下。作者真是个充满激情又有趣的psych prof.
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July 24, 2023《绝非偶然》（美）埃利奥特·阿伦森。
怎么找到挚爱一生的知识、事物和事业呢？
怎么找到挚爱一生的知识、事物和事业呢？
June 1, 2025
A good, easy, and light read with plenty of inspiration!
Reading biographies or autobiographies always teaches me something!
Reading biographies or autobiographies always teaches me something!
May 7, 2024
An academic "rags to riches" story shared with grace, wit, and humility. As a social psychologist, I was fascinated by Aaronson's journey from a poor beleaguered kid in Revere, MA to a revered teacher, mentor, and humanitarian in Santa Cruz, CA. He and my own dissertation advisor both did their doctoral work under the renowned Leon Festinger. How eye opening to read how experiments were created and theories tweaked!
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March 16, 2016I'm still not quite used to memoirs and this is the my first-time reading memoir of a social psychologist. I enjoyed learning about the stories on cognitive dissonance research, how psychology was done in the 60s and 70s. It puts the social and cognitive psychology I study now into perspective. Life and research stories are nicely curated. But again, there is something awkward about memoirs. Studying psychology has distant myself a little bit from my own self-concepts on the conscious level. Reading someone else's self-concept constructed on some implicit or explicit theories, I cannot help but wonder how complete the stories were and how it might change depending on the theories you apply to yourself.
July 16, 2013
An inspiring autobiography of the famous psychologist Elliot Aronson. It documents his life's journey as well as scholarly discoveries. The book reveals a kind and humble soul underneath a smart academic.
February 13, 2014
I loved this book. Eliot Aronson seems to be an amazing combination of talented writer, researcher and humanist and he tells his story with a lot of humor. Added bonus: I learned a lot about the field of social psychology.
October 24, 2010
Very interesting scientific insights and positive implications for our society. Aronson is an amazing social psycholigist and a great contributor to society.
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December 20, 2013Currently my favourite book
February 25, 2016
cute story, well told. You feel like Elliot Aronson invited you to tea to tell you his life story.
June 20, 2017
Turned out pretty good, i just took forever.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews