EXPECTATIONS
Brace yourself--it may be best to expect the worst. So says James Shepperd, Ph.D., a psychology professor at the University of Florida (UF), whose recent research suggests that people tend to look on the bright side unless they're expecting feedback that challenges that bright outlook.
In Shepperd's study, presented at the American Psychological Society's annual meeting, UF students were told that, due to a university mistake, at least a quarter of them would soon receive a $78 bill. After asking them to predict their own chances of getting the bill, Shepperd learned that students engaged in "bracing," but only if the financial loss would seriously affect them. So while financially stable students tended to guess that their chances of receiving the bill were one in four, estimates of financially needy students were higher--some were even "sure" they'd get it.
According to Shepperd, setting up expectations is a protective behavior. Low expectations mean less chance for disappointment--even from a negative outcome. In fact, he says, "a bad outcome can actually feel good if you expected something worse, and a good outcome can feel bad if you expected something better." Next, Shepperd hopes to determine which methods for delivering bad news work best--helpful knowledge to people like doctors, who have to tell others what they don't want to hear.
