Vital Lies, Simple Truths: The Psychology of Self Deception

by Daniel Goleman

Book Overview

From the bestselling author of Emotional Intelligence comes a penetrating analysis of the many ways we deceive ourselves.

Daniel Goleman draws on evidence of all kinds--from brain function to social dynamics--to reveal how we skew our most intimate relationships, our day-to-day lives, and our common reality by burying painful insights and memories. This self-deception is our means of psychic self-preservation, the currency of...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0684831074
• ISBN13: 9780684831077
• Release Date: May 1996
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.76 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Foundation for cross-disciplinary study

Goleman's "Vital Lies, Simple Truths" copyrighted in 1985 is not to be dismissed as dated material. Goleman provides an easily read foundation for much of the research being reported in the 25 years subsequent to his publication. His hypotheses and illustrations from qualitative research establishes a clear milestone whether your discipline may be Sociology, Psychology, Business, Leadership, or Medical research. Like any report from good research, Goleman is careful to note his own potential biases as well as clearly identifying further research in related areas whose critical need became evident during the pursuit of his own focus. For anyone in the above disciplines, this book is highly recommended. R. Bruce Moore, Ph.D.

Wow...read this book

This book is amazing. I was reading through this and all the things we do now are so small and really explains why we don't really "think" about a lot of things. It also opens your eyes to what your brain can really do should you choose.

Must read book for anyone interested in psychology.

First, this is one of my favorite books and I would universally recommend it to anyone. I almost did not find this book or read it because I was not so impressed with Goleman's books on emotional intelligence. I picked this up and started reading, and I could understand right away that this book was different from any other psychology book I had read. VLST was written for the professional, yet is understandable by the layman as well because it is so well and clearly written. The intuitive way it is written with clear examples of behavior allows any reader to follow on several levels the complex line of logic through the entire book and learn quite a bit about how the mind works and how delicate our minds are. I cannot say or stress how wonderful and important I think this book is, it must have been dearly inspired for the care and inclusiveness it possesses. It is so clear that humans have incredible capabilities, and yet we cannot seem to use them in many cases, especially on the social or cultural level ... and part of the reason has to be out ability to lie to ourselves or be manipulated by our tendencies to keep us stunted. This book dissects and explains the mechanism here, and is one of the most important books I can recommend to people. I am going to buy a Kindle, and I would love it if this book was on the Kindle offering list so I could carry it around and reread it.

Must read book for anyone interested in psychology.

First, this is one of my favorite books. I almost did not find this book or read it because I was not so impressed with Goleman's books on emotional intelligence. I picked this up and started reading, and I could understand right away that this book as different from any other psychology book I had read. VLST was written for the professional, yet is understandable for the layman as well. The intuitive way it is written with clear examples of behavior allows any reader to follow a complex line of logic through the entire book and learn quite a bit about how the mind works and how delicate our minds are. I cannot say or stress how wonderful I think this book is, it must have been dearly inspired for the care and inclusiveness it possesses. It is so clear that humans have incredible capabilities, and yet we cannot seem to use them in many cases, especially on the social or cultural level ... and part of the reason has to be out ability to lie to ourselves. This book dissects and explains the mechanism here, and is one of the most important books I can recommend to people.

A Vital Book With Simple Truths

Goleman states his thesis using three premises in the early pages of his book: (1) The mind can protect itself against anxiety by dimming awareness. (2) This mechanism creates a blind spot: a zone of blocked attention and self-deception. (3) Such blind spots occur at each major level of behavior from the psychological to the social. (p. 22)With these principles as his map, Goleman writes an excellent study of human psychological behavior that, whether the reader approaches it as a journal of self-discovery (like me) or as a explanation for social "groupthink" (like me, again), it proved to be very helpful. I enjoyed how Goleman supported his ideas with recent research and how he used quotes and references to support his ideas. Mapping out why we cover our anxieties with delusional behaviors, well, I think it is fascinating and the applications are immense.