A woman planning a dinner party calls a gourmet caterer and learns that "Chateaubriand" can be ordered. To which she responds, "No, thanks. We're going to take care of the wine ourselves." The dead silence at the end of the phone is her first clue that something is amiss. A CEO attempts to put an end to complaints from employees about the demeaning behavior of certain managers by berating the managers before the staff--thus reinforcing the very behavior he's trying to correct.

We often criticize such incidents with remarks like "How dumb!" or "What was he thinking?" But psychologist Madeleine L. Van Hecke argues that much of what we label stupidity can better be explained as blind spots. Just as the blind spot in the driver's side mirror can swallow up a passing car, patterns in the way we think can likewise become blind spots, sifting out information and observations that to other people seem obvious. Drawing on research in creativity, cognitive psychology, critical thinking, child development, education, and philosophy, Dr. Van Hecke shows how our assets as thinkers create the very blind spots that become our worst liabilities. She devotes a chapter to each of ten mental blind spots that afflict even the smartest people: not stopping to think, jumping to conclusions, my-side bias, getting trapped by categories, and much more. At the end of each chapter she offers tactics for overcoming that specific blind spot, so we can become more creative and competent thinkers.

Full of funny, poignant stories about human foibles, Blind Spots offers many insights for improving our social and political lives while giving us fresh slants into the minds of people who are poles apart from ourselves.

作者简介：玛德莲•赫克Madeleine L. Van Hecke

在美国伊利诺伊州一所学院中任教，同时也是执业心理医师，经常受邀担任创意及思考主题的研讨讲师。近年她结合专业背景与她多年来遇到的个人与组织思考障碍问题，写了Blind Spots一书，出版后迅速跻身Amazon网站心理自助类书籍前十名，让更多人了解不自知的盲点的成因并进行改善，受到广大读者的喜爱和好评。

译者简介：蔺秀云，博士，现为北京师范大学发展心理研究所讲师，北京师范大学发展心理研究所家庭研究与治疗中心负责人、资深咨询师，心理学院本科生教育实习指导教师。主要研究方向：家庭治疗，儿童障碍，弱势群体心理健康。

徐守森，博士，毕业于北京师范大学，现为首都体育学院教育心理教研室副教授。主要研

究方向为大学生心理健康素质教育、大学生体育参与的心理动力。