In December 2018 Gatwick Airport shut down. 109 eyewitnesses reported sighting 170 drone flights over the airport.
All flights were grounded, and the nation braced for a terrorist attack.
But what if those sightings weren’t real but instead an imagination caused by expectations?
In today’s episode with award-winning science journalist David Robson, we explore the science of the expectation effect.
Link to the bonus episode: https://nudge.kit.com/86d3e39845
Become an FSB member: https://get.fsb.org.uk/nudge/
Read the Expectation Effect: https://amzn.to/4dvkb3s
David’s website: https://davidrobson.me/
David’s Substack: https://davidarobson.substack.com/
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Today’s sources:
Benedetti, F., Durando, J., & Vighetti, S. (2014). Nocebo and placebo modulation of hypobaric hypoxia headache involves the cyclooxygenase-prostaglandins pathway. Pain, 155(5), 921–928.
Job, V., Dweck, C. S., & Walton, G. M. (2010). Ego depletion—Is it all in your head? Implicit theories about willpower affect self-regulation. Psychological Science, 21(11), 1686–1693.
Langer, E., Djikic, M., Pirson, M., Madenci, A., & Donohue, R. (2010). Believing is seeing: Using mindlessness (mindfully) to improve visual acuity. Psychological Science, 21(5), 661–666.
Merckelbach, H., & van de Ven, V. (2001). Another white Christmas: Fantasy proneness and reports of 'hallucinatory experiences' in undergraduate students. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 32(3), 137–144.
Montes, J., Wulf, G., & Navalta, J. W. (2018). Maximal aerobic capacity can be increased by enhancing performers' expectancies. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 58(5), 744–749.
Pirson, M., Ie, A., & Langer, E. (2012). Seeing what we know, knowing what we see: Challenging the limits of visual acuity. Journal of Adult Development, 19(2), 59–67.
Robson, D. (2022). The expectation effect: How your mindset can transform your life. Canongate.
