《绝非偶然》的作者埃利奥特·阿伦森是二十世纪最杰出的心理学家之一，曾荣获美国心理协会全部三项大奖：杰出教学奖、杰出著作奖、杰出研究奖。他所著的《社会性动物》被誉为“美国社会心理学的《圣经》”。
一个性格腼腆、资质平平的小男孩，在无财无势的家庭中长大，如何成为举世闻名的社会心理学家？年少时哈佛大学望洋兴叹的“笨小子”，十年后竟成为哈佛大学教授？在《绝非偶然》一书中，阿伦森用自己的经历阐明了社会心理学的真义：无论个人还是社会，都可以向好的方向发展，一个人可以不受儿时不愉快经历和个性缺陷的束缚，通过自我完善成就可能的自我。
此外，作者在书中详述了社会心理学许多最具代表性的实验，从理论假设到实验过程再到最后的结论分析，每一步都清晰可见。如果你对社会心理学实验和理论感兴趣，这本书无疑是一顿饕餮大餐。
How does a boy from a financially and intellectually impoverished background grow up to become a Harvard researcher, win international acclaim for his groundbreaking work, and catch fire as a pioneering psychologist? As the only person in the history of the American Psychological Association to have won all three of its highest honors–for distinguished research, teaching, and writing– Elliot Aronson is living proof that humans are capable of capturing the power of the situation and conquering the prison of personality.A personal and compelling look into Aronson’s profound contributions to the field of social psychology, Not by Chance Alone is a lifelong story of human potential and the power of social change.
