In-Depth Book Review: Mistakes Were Made (but Not by Me) Analysis

This book review analyzes Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson's 'Mistakes Were Made (but Not by Me),' which explores the human tendency to justify mistakes rather than admit them. The review highlights the book's examination of cognitive biases, memory modification, and the impact of self-justification on individuals and society. It discusses the book's formal writing style, target audience, and positive impact on readers by prompting them to question their justifications. Relating the book to a personal experience of justifying a late assignment, the review underscores the book's message about the importance of acknowledging and amending mistakes. It also touches upon the book's broader implications for the justice system, science, relationships, and government decisions, recommending honesty and openness to new evidence as solutions. The review concludes by comparing the book to 'How Not to Be Wrong' and affirming the value of understanding self-justification.

Running head: BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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BOOK REVIEW
Mistakes Were Made (but not by me) is a book written by Carol Tavris and Elliot
Aronson; the book explores the tendency of humans to deny their mistakes and find
justifications for the same. People engaged in MLOS program should read it as it will give
them the idea of approaching people and their thinking pattern. It will also help them to
understand how they can cope with the problem illustrated in the book.
The book is written from the perspective of the people who commit mistakes but do
not admit it; instead, they try to justify their actions. Therefore the book explores their pattern
of thinking and why it is thought in that particular way. The authors of the book try to give
the readers certain information by citing many examples from the everyday life of people and
dramatizes it so that the information that they are trying to impart reaches the audience
(Tavris & Aronson 2016). Firstly, they say that people do make mistakes but then tend to
justify it. The book explores the cognitive biases that are present in the minds of humans
unintentionally. Apart from the confirmation bias, many other habits encourage humans to
hide their mistakes. The authors further say that memories can be easily modified as well as
rearranged so that it fits into the narrative and reduce the cognitive dissonance (Tavris &
Aronson 2016). Much such information has been provided by the authors in the book to make
it more credible.
The target audience of the book are adults as well as teenagers who try to justify their
unacceptable behavior. The book is written in a formal style where the authors provide the
readers with actual terminologies. Through their formal style, they can make a correlation
between displayed behavior and how the latter affects not only them but also people who
surround them. Their writing has clarity as well as originality since they have used credible
examples to make their point understandable (TavriS & Aronson 2016). Though they have
used many technical words, they were successful in explaining them with the help of
examples. Thus the writing style suits the intended audience as it has been discussed above. It

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is easy and straightforward for their target audience to understand as they can connect with
the situations that are presented in the book (Tavris & Aronson 2016).
The book has a positive effect on the minds of the audience. It shows how the brain is
wired with self-justifications. It explores the concept that has no one has yet written on it. It
forces people to question their mistakes as well as the justifications that they make for the
same. Before reading the book, people it was believed that it is a personal story or a fiction,
but after reading it, one realizes that though it is fiction, it is filled with reality. It compels
people to question their way of dealing with problems and subconsciously makes them guilty
of their previous pattern of justifying their mistakes. Earlier it was thought that making
mistakes and explaining it was a good thing. Still, the book came as an eye-opener and
changed the previous views that stated that the human model of thinking has become
redundant as they try to justify everything with their prior beliefs as well as ideas. The book
is related to one of the personal experiences. In contrast, a student the assignment was
submitted after the given deadline and was justified with a lot of excuses like internet
problems and illness. Back then, the mistake that was committed was defended by a series of
counter-arguments that, after reading the book, was realized. Therefore the book achieved its
goal of making people realize that justifying mistakes is not correct; instead, coping with it
and making amends is essential.
This book is highly recommended to others for reading as it imparts a strong message
to the audience. It does not stray from its main agenda. It is useful as people will be able to
differentiate between justifies as well as unjustified actions. Therefore, the arguments that are
made in the book are credible as well as accurate since it uses real-life examples to make the
audience understand the necessity to realize their mistake and make amends for it (Tavris &
Aronson 2016). Some of the arguments in the book look at the more significant issues such as
the failure of the justice system that too tries to justify itself through their actions, self-

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justifications also hinder advancements in science and medicine, it also ruins relationships
and that governments too can make justifications for their unacceptable decisions (Tavris &
Aronson 2016). All the above points can be agreed on as self-justification can be detrimental
to nations as well as the citizens. Each of the above argument is supported by logical
evidence the makes the reading more authentic. The possibilities that the book suggests to
avoid these problems is, to be honest to others and accept new evidence so that one can learn
from their mistakes.
Some of the problems that were left unsolved are the way jurisdiction and government
operations and how they can deal with the issue of self-justification. Each section of the book
dealt with different points that make it less convincing. The book is similar to “How not to be
wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking” by Jordan Ellenberg that talks about various
societal philosophies with the help of mathematics as well as statistics (Ellenberg, 2015).
Though the crux of the two books is the same, the deliverance differs. A mistake was Made is
a simple essay type book without any statistics, whereas the last book uses mathematical
solutions to make the materials more credible and exciting (Ellenberg, 2015). The paper
justifies the approach of Tavris and Aronson.
Thus, to conclude, “Mistakes were made (but not by me)” is a book that everyone
should read to understand how the mind works and justifies itself through excuses.

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References
Ellenberg, J. (2015). How Not To be Wrong: The Hidden Maths of Everyday (p. 480).
Penguin. ISBN: 0718196042
Tavris, C., & Aronson, E. (2016). Mistakes Were Made (but Not by Me) (3rd ed., pp. 1-402).
Pinter & Martin. ISBN: 1780662653