Chris Berdik, a science journalist and former staff editor at The Atlantic, begins with a simple premise: expectations matter. The notion is well-known in medicine, where doctors have  known the power of the “placebo effect” for a long time. But it turns out that this same psychological machinery holds sway in many realms, that what we bring to a situation can, in some sense, bend reality. Berdik answered questions about his new book, “Mind over Mind,” from Mind Matters editor Gareth Cook.

We've all heard of the placebo effect in medicine, but you take this idea even further. Can you explain?
Traditionally, the placebo effect has been thought of as triggering self-healing using fake drugs. So, for instance, if I take a sugar pill believing that it’s a pain reliever, that belief causes my brain to release endorphins, which brings pain relief. But now, the placebo effect is being looked at as more than the ability of fake medicine to fool people into feeling better. Research into placebos is broadening out to examine everything that affects a patient's expectations for treatment — how the doctor talks and acts, the side effect information they read online, the news reports of killer diseases — and how, when, and to what extent those expectations can help or hinder healing.

And placebo effects in medicine are just one example of how our expectations can bend reality. For instance, brain scans reveal that expectations about a wine's quality (based on price or a critic's review) actually change the level of activity in the brain's reward centers when a person takes a sip. Highly-trained weight lifters can out-do their personal bests when they believe they've taken a performance booster. People who wear taller, better looking avatars in virtual reality behave in ways that taller and better looking people tend to act. For example, they approach better-looking potential dates and they are more aggressive in negotiations, both in the virtual world and after the headgear is removed. In lab and field experiments, people who stand in powerful poses (think Superman) for a minute or two, have similar hormonal changes to people who are given actual power and authority over another person, and they exhibit the same sorts of behavioral changes.

What do you mean by expectations “bending reality”?
The expectations I write about don’t become reality, but they can shift it in small but often important ways.

Hardly any of the effects are guaranteed or one-size-fits all. For instance, at some point, a wine will taste lousy enough that we’ll spit it out even though the premium price tag suggests it’s delicious. In medicine, there’s no evidence of placebos curing diseases, shrinking tumors, or mending broken bones. In athletics, there are physical limits that no amount of positive thinking will supersede.

But subtle and conditional effects can make a big difference, because expectations bend reality in so many areas of life. Our minds are constantly jumping to conclusions about the world we live in and who we are. Instead of just accepting them, we can examine some of those expectations and maybe put them to the test by trying out some alternatives.

Why the title, "Mind over Mind"?
A lot of the expectations that affect us – the assumptions that shape what we see, hear, smell, and taste, for instance, or the expectations we may have that a more expensive drug will work better than a cheap one – happen on automatic. We don't spend a lot of time wondering about our expectations and considering the alternatives, and that lack of attention helps give their effects an aura of permanence and inevitability. From time to time, it may be worthwhile to examine and question our expectations, to look for the connections between what we think and what we experience, and to try using our mind to shake things up.

4 Comments

1. 1. sunspot 03:56 PM 10/16/12

   It seems more accurate to say that expectations bend PERCEPTION of reality, and thereby results in behavioral changes that may affect reality. The placebo effect changes a mental state (perception) which is conducive to brain behavior that results in pain relief.
   
   But what's new in this observation. Low expectations of parents can result in under-achieving children and vise versa.
   
   Here's a related issue. Does a crack addict gain superhuman strength from the drug, or does the addict perceive others as weaker, and therefore acts accordingly?

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2. 2. Petra 05:40 AM 10/18/12

   Interesting article as it covers a lot of territory, yet the point is not to have any preconceived ideas about anything without further investigation/gaining a learned point of view about the subject matter, though life experience is enormously helpful.
   In application of the 4 Person Principle where one wants to contact someone and in theory accepting we are only 3 contacts away from making the connection with the fourth person we wish to contact, it's an interesting exercise in asking do we really believe it's possible? And if so, who are the three front-runners to helping us gain access to the fourth person we wish to reach?
   But what happens if it works and contact can be established? What dialogue will follow that will either bring success or failure?
   The key most likely is knowing as much as possible about the person one may address in asking for something or wishing to promote an action.
   But is our expectation in researching the person and their interests enough? Probably not. We may need to ask one of our three preliminary contacts along the way who may offer a morsel of knowledge about the most suitable approach.
   So there one sits with a choice between e-mailing, calling or writing a formal letter. Which one should it be?
   The point being at at each juncture we find ourselves somewhere between desire, hope and faith, with our preconceived notion success is possible because we've been told the method is known to work.
   Yet, it goes back to simplicity in stating "one cannot succeed for fail, unless one tries. Thus if contact is made the 4 Person Principle worked, though the outcome may fail.

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3. 3. theWrathe 10:33 AM 10/24/12

   There is some interesting data about expectations. This is a glib restatement of the experiment (ie, I'm not going back to verify the details). Basically, a group of near-failing kids (hovering around a D to F border) were divided into two groups. The first group was told how wonderful they were, how smart they were, how well they were doing, and that the teachers knew they would do well. The other group was told clearly that they were failing without mincing any words.
   
   The following year, the encouraged kids' grades dropped. The condemned kids' grades rose to the C- level. (Lots of details, like teacher quality, were controlled for iirc).
   
   Speculation was that giving kids a false sense of how they are doing undermined their own efforts. Objective reality (in the sense of "dude, you're failing!") apparently helped. It was popular to say this undermines the argument that we need to build up self-esteem.
   
   I'm not sure that conclusion is accurate though. Maybe there's a subtle expectation game going on here. Telling someone what they "know" is the truth means you're not coddling them and that you MUST have real faith in them. But giving out made up awards and complements to boost self-esteem might undermine real self-esteem, real confidence, and real results.

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4. 4. CharismaDawn in reply to sunspot 09:14 AM 11/21/12

   
   As you put it...
   "It seems more accurate to say that expectations bend PERCEPTION of reality, and thereby results in behavioral changes that may affect reality."
   
   Well said!

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