#BookReview for "Quirkology" by Richard Wiseman⭐⭐⭐Enjoyable pop psychology, what scientific studies tell us about quirks of human behavior

[chad@mindly.social]

#BookReview for "Quirkology" by Richard Wiseman

Enjoyable pop psychology, what scientific studies tell us about quirks of human behavior.
Unfortunately, it isn't all accurate, and it's hard to know what to trust.
This was written before the replication crisis in psychology. Now we know most interesting, quirky psychology studies can't be replicated. That's just in general, though. What about the specific ones in this book?
It's hard to say. There are actually several points where the author admits follow-up studies contradict the original result - yet he still included it in the book anyway! Very disappointing.
The evolutionary psychology is pure speculation. Suggesting tall people were prized because they could reach fruit on trees. That's a "just so story" invented without evidence to explain why tall people are popular. If shorter people were more popular, I'm sure he would have said it was so they could more easily reach roots and berries. I'd like to see a more evidence-based perspective.
Some studies, like elderly priming, have famously failed to replicate. Other scientists have generally not tried to replicate Wiseman's studies, so it's hard to say how robust they are.
In addition, some of the studies have been published in Wiseman's other books or in many psychology books, so some parts feel repetitive.