J07 -- THE BOOK OF TELLS 1
Citation. Collett, P. (2003). The book of tells: How to read people’s minds from their actions.
London, United Kingdom: Doubleday.
Tells are a recognizable action or a method of performing an action that reveal something about a person that is not otherwise easily observable (Collett, 2003, p.15). The Book of Tells, written by social psychologist Dr. Peter Collett, decodes tells to explain what these subtle clues of human behaviour and motivations are telling us. By delving into the emotional and biological rationale behind unscripted and scripted behaviours he helps the reader have a better understanding of human interactions.
Dr. Collett is clearly fascinated by human behavior as he has dedicated much of his
career …show more content…
This timing increases the probability that the publication of this book was being driven by economic factors associated with the popularity of the Big Brother television franchise. Article Purpose
The thesis of the book is that it is not people’s selected words and large actions that tell you what they are thinking but the little things we do and the way we do them that more clearly
J07 -- THE BOOK OF TELLS 6 defines our intent and emotions. In specific he states “Trust the tells’, and not what people say about themselves, or what other people say about them” (Collett, 2003, p.34). Dr. Collett adequately defends this thesis through his use of historical references, findings of previous studies and modern examples.
Topic Insights
Despite being an avid people watcher, there was a significant amount of content in this book that was new knowledge for me. From learning that the reason I play with my hair when I am stressed is that it mimics a mother’s touch to her child’s head to why men hook their fingers into their jeans with knuckles out versus women with palms out (threat and submission signals), there are a myriad number of nuances in human behaviour to be learned about in Dr. …show more content…
Given his education and continued standing as an expert in his field Dr. Collett appears to be a reliable and reputable source to the truth about tells. Additionally, he substantiates the material in this book with over 22 pages of references from reputable sources (Collett, 2003, p.357).
It should be noted that Collett is not recognized for significant discoveries in the field nor does he appear to hold current institutional research or teaching positions at this time (Personally
Speaking, n.d.). If you contrast his credentials to an esteemed colleague such as Dr. Paul Ekman
(considered the leading the authority for his research into human emotion and behaviour and the discoverer of micro-tells) Dr. Collett comes across as more of a master student than a groundbreaking scientist (Best Masters in Psychology, 2013). Through review of his articles, live talk, and this book, I receive the impression that Collett is very good at interpreting situations based on his learned knowledge but not that he is stretching his skills to make new discoveries
Citation. Collett, P. (2003). The book of tells: How to read people’s minds from their actions.
London, United Kingdom: Doubleday.
Tells are a recognizable action or a method of performing an action that reveal something about a person that is not otherwise easily observable (Collett, 2003, p.15). The Book of Tells, written by social psychologist Dr. Peter Collett, decodes tells to explain what these subtle clues of human behaviour and motivations are telling us. By delving into the emotional and biological rationale behind unscripted and scripted behaviours he helps the reader have a better understanding of human interactions.
Dr. Collett is clearly fascinated by human behavior as he has dedicated much of his
career …show more content…
This timing increases the probability that the publication of this book was being driven by economic factors associated with the popularity of the Big Brother television franchise. Article Purpose
The thesis of the book is that it is not people’s selected words and large actions that tell you what they are thinking but the little things we do and the way we do them that more clearly
J07 -- THE BOOK OF TELLS 6 defines our intent and emotions. In specific he states “Trust the tells’, and not what people say about themselves, or what other people say about them” (Collett, 2003, p.34). Dr. Collett adequately defends this thesis through his use of historical references, findings of previous studies and modern examples.
Topic Insights
Despite being an avid people watcher, there was a significant amount of content in this book that was new knowledge for me. From learning that the reason I play with my hair when I am stressed is that it mimics a mother’s touch to her child’s head to why men hook their fingers into their jeans with knuckles out versus women with palms out (threat and submission signals), there are a myriad number of nuances in human behaviour to be learned about in Dr. …show more content…
Given his education and continued standing as an expert in his field Dr. Collett appears to be a reliable and reputable source to the truth about tells. Additionally, he substantiates the material in this book with over 22 pages of references from reputable sources (Collett, 2003, p.357).
It should be noted that Collett is not recognized for significant discoveries in the field nor does he appear to hold current institutional research or teaching positions at this time (Personally
Speaking, n.d.). If you contrast his credentials to an esteemed colleague such as Dr. Paul Ekman
(considered the leading the authority for his research into human emotion and behaviour and the discoverer of micro-tells) Dr. Collett comes across as more of a master student than a groundbreaking scientist (Best Masters in Psychology, 2013). Through review of his articles, live talk, and this book, I receive the impression that Collett is very good at interpreting situations based on his learned knowledge but not that he is stretching his skills to make new discoveries