Switch Book Summary

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The book I have chosen to read and summarize is “Switch, How To Change Things When Change Is Hard", by Chip and Dan Heath. I chose Switch to relate to sociology because societies need new methods to affect change on a large scale basis and this book addresses exactly that. We have a need for social change, which is critical sociology. In addition to big picture change, individuals can benefit from knowing how to change their behavior in their personal lives as well. Big changes start small. The sociological perspective for this book is the Symbolic-Interaction Approach, which is a Micro-level analysis and asks core questions like, “How do behavior and meaning change from person to person and from one situation to another?” and, “How do people shape the reality they experience?”1 This is consistent with the theory the authors of Switch are trying to prove, which is if we can figure out how to motivate people to change through their interactions with others and the environment and by understanding what drives them, then we can effectively introduce and implement new ways to change. The information derived to prove this theory was obtained through many case studies, and the results were achieved through various surveys, experiments and observations, and by using sample populations, which is a smaller number of subjects selected to represent the entire population, as well as, independent and dependent variables. The book is divided in to three sections; the first section introduces the reader to the idea of “Direct the Rider”, the second introduces us to the concept of “Motivate the Elephant” and the third section addresses the final component, “Shape the Path”. “The Rider” is our intellect or conscious mind, “The Elephant”, is our feelings and our hearts’ desires, and “The Path”, is the environment. The interworking of the three determines our ability to move
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