The Expectation Effect

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CNN's John Sutter has written a book about the expectation effect. The idea that our mindset affects what we see and do every day is not new, he says. A recent study by Alia Krom out of Stanford shows it can have short-term effects such as in this milkshake study. But changing your expectations isn't going to be a replacement for doing lots of exercise or dieting, Sutter writes.

How we think about the world can drastically influence how we navigate through it. Cutting edge research proves that reframing our mindset to be more positive, even in the light of negative events, can significantly alter how our brain responds.

Discussing one of our favorite books of the year, author David Robson explains how our expectations can secretly meddle with almost every aspect of our lives. And by understanding their effects more thoroughly, we can unlock some powerful ways of living a more positive life.

This is a special episode, not only because we are talking with David Robson about his fantastic book “The Expectation Effect: How Your Mindset Can Change Your World”, but we are co-hosting this episode with one of our favorite podcasters, Christian Hunt of Human Risk Podcast. And just to top it off, the interview is recorded in none other than the iconic Abbey Road Studios in London!

Now that your expectations are set suitably high, we hope we don’t disappoint you with what we think is a fantastic episode of Behavioral Grooves! If Behavioral Grooves Podcast continues to meet your listening expectations please consider helping our ongoing production costs with a Patreon subscription. Many thanks!

Topics

(4:20) Welcome and speed round questions.

(7:07) What is the expectation effect?

(8:09) Why the placebo effect doesn’t work on everyone.

(9:36) Our stress response and fluctuations in our cortisol levels.

(13:13) Negative stress mindset vs. positive stress mindset.

(15:00) Does the expectation effect change the way we feel?

(18:16) Is reframing a key component of the expectation effect?

(19:35) David’s journey into exploring expectations.

(22:26) How our mindset can contribute to the outcome of our diet or exercise habit.

(28:41) How marketing sets our expectations.

(33:04) The brain is a prediction machine.