Behavioral-finance

I had heard about personality typing and such before from Psych classes, but this book puts it to practical use. They first give an introduction to personality typing, it's history, and modern implications. They then help you understand the differences in type as well as dispelling some common myths and connotations of terms used in typing.

The book introduces various methods of assessing a person's personality type (using preferences vs. temperment) as well as giving some exercises at the end of each chapter to help put what you just learned to use. Of course, the stress is on *Speed* reading people so they give tips on how to quickly asess someone's type so that you can put what you learned to use in the real world where you can't sit down and have a therapy session with everyone you meet.

The later chapters in the book delve into the 16 different types, grouping them by temperment, and gives detailed descriptions on common behaviors and responses of these types. Additionally they give tips on how to interact with particular types in order to communicate with them most effectively.

Note: they are VERY careful to state that typing does not equal stereotyping and always caution that people won't always fit neatly in these man made categories. Plus they are very careful to stress that this book is not intended for someone to learn how to "control" others, but rather develop a system of effective interaction with friends, colleagues, bosses, etc.

If you always felt you never really "got" people then this is a definate must read. If you always kind of "felt" people out and reacted from what you sensed (like me) this is still a must read because it takes this method and lays it out explicitly so you can use it as a tool rather than merely intution.

This book not only describes the different types, it gives the reader tips on how to recognize these different types, and then helps you learn the best way of dealing with people based on their type.

This book does not suggest that we should manipulate others. It simply makes the point that all people are different, and it is important to try to communicate with others in a way that makes sense to them. If a listener can't understand the message you are trying to send, they argue, then you have conflict and miscommunication. Such a scenario does not benefit anyone.

The first part of the book helps the reader identify their own type. This is done through a very thorough discussion of the differences in each pair of letters (E/I, S/N, T/F, and J/P), including excellent examples. This is the first Myers Briggs book I have read that allowed me to unequivocably determine my own type. The book then has descriptions of the sixteen types, as well as a discussion of temperment. I found the descriptions of the sixteen types a bit sparse, but the discussion of temperment was the best I have read. I normally find the discussion of temperment and lead functions to be the best, most easy to understand description I have ever read.

The sections on how to identify other people's type and keys to effectively communicating with each type were the high points of the. The authors give readers a number of exercises to practice and develop the skills they are teaching. These exercises really add to the book. The tips on communication all make sense and are easy to implement.

This book is almost guaranteed to help you improve your communication skills. I highly reccommend it.

This book, as opposed to other books concerning "Temperament Typing" offers a less official, more relaxed and practical way of harnessing this theory. I think it is worth a read for everyone who feels he wants or needs to know people more, on both the personal or impersonal level

In Altruistically Inclined, Alex Field presents a superbly dense and provocative exploration of individual behavior and reasoning. From a background of economics, his deconstruction and reassembling of our understanding of what is rational is an ambitious challenge that Prof. Field manages to tackle and push forward without descending into the excess of intellectual obfuscation. Not that Prof. Field entirely avoids drilling so deep into subject matter that we find ourselves immersed in annotation and data such that we must occasionally come up for air before choking on the dust left by a speeding intellect. It's a delicate dance and Prof. Field is to be commended for offering his thesis not as a debunking but as a methodical enhancement to current and classical science. His map of what might be referred to as a behavioral genome is hugely detailed and while he doesn't seek to redraw the boundaries, he offers topography within those lines that suggest vastly different interpretations than prior snapshots of the surface revealed. The author succeeds in arguing his thesis from multiple perspectives and applying a command of interdisciplinary reasoning. The effect is an elegant and compelling essay that sketches a portrait of our brain that is both an x-ray into evolutionary development and a broader credible reflection that speaks to the puzzles of social and political intercourse . As Behavior sciences lean toward inexactness, Mr. Field has been able to apply formula and rigor in measuring and testing traits characterized by nuance. That Mr. Field is an economist is evidenced throughout this book - His presentation of the data leaves the reader with an audit trail and confidence that support his theory and anticipate challenges occurring to the engaged reader. Beware though, this book is not a summer breeze. Though not without humor this book is a serious tome, and not written for "the layman" . As prefaced remarks so often allude to an effort by the author to make content more accessible to the non-disciplined reader, it is refreshing that Prof. Field avoids this dumbing down pitfall and engages readers as fellow academicians. That being said, this "layman" found his way through the material and can recommend Altruistically Inclined to others inclined toward the informative.

I was looking forward to learning about new theories in Behavioral Finance, but was a little disappointed by this book. The 21 articles each examine a discrepancy in a free market situation and develop theories for explaining the discrepancy drawing upon the behavioral finance field. I have an MBA and have been an investor for more than 20 years. There are too many statistics and academic language to be an efficient book for me. I quickly switched to finding each of the 21 questions, then skipping to the summary to find the behavioral finance theory for the discrepancy. I did enjoy the credit card high interest rate explanation and consider this explanation alone worth the price of the book. I also enjoyed the closed end fund discount price explanation also very useful. Book is ok, but 90% of the material can be skipped unless you are a finance professor who enjoys the academic orientation and detail.