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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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