The Expectation Effect is one of the best books I’ve read this year. In this post I’ll give an overview of the message and explain why I think it contains such mind-blowing content.

What is the Expectation Effect?

Most of us know, on some level, that our expectations can impact events in our lives positively or negatively. I think what this book illuminates so clearly is that this effect is widespread and can change outcomes dramatically. It’s clear that the relationship between the mind and body goes far beyond what is commonly understood by society.

Simply put, the Expectation Effect describes positive expectations resulting in positive outcomes or vice versa. The reality is more nuanced than this. In the book Robson gives a tour of areas where we can see the effect of positive or negative expectations. There are plenty of self-help books that talk about similar positive mindset concepts, such as manifestation and visualisation, but where this books differentiates itself is the reference to scientific studies explaining these effects and the level of detail provided.

Where does this manifest itself?

One of the things most surprising about this effect was just how widespread it can be in life. The chapter that really got my attention was The Food Paradox which talks about the effects of expectation on the feeling on being full. A study showed that labelling the same milkshake with more or less ‘filling’ ingredients can change our perception of how full we are and in turn change the chemicals produced by the body. This study by Alia Crum at Yale and Arizona State universities showed that participants who drunk a milkshake with a description conveying ‘indulgent’ felt more full than those who drunk one described as ‘healthy’ even though both milkshakes were the same. Multiple similar studies are mentioned in the book, and the point is that our expectation about which foods are filling can impact our diet and health hugely. Those who consumed the ‘healthy’ labelled milkshake went on to consume more calories later.

Robson outlines other areas of life; education, business, health (including life expectancy) where expectation can have astounding effects.

This effect can have a dramatic effect on outcomes. It’s not explicitly discussed in the book, but I think there can be an enormous cyclical feedback effect. For example, consider the case of children performing better in school due to teachers’ higher expectations. Robson discusses the study by Goyer et at. in 2017 on improving academic attainment of black children through self-affirmation at the start of the academic year. Robson notes that the effect on attainment can be seen years later. Self-affirmation has a positive effect on the children and improves their results. This, sooner or later, raises their expectation of positive results and the cycle strengthens again. As the book says, the initial change of mindset has a dramatic effect on outcomes, but I think there is also a cycle of feedback happening here.

Impacts of the Effect

Two of the most interesting points are:

• Awareness of the effect doesn’t diminish it. For example someone taking a placebo pill may experience recovery from a condition, even if they are aware of the placebo, so long as they have the right mindset. Sports stars can benefit from performing rituals before a match which logically don’t seem to have any effect on their performance, even if they understand that logically the ritual should have no effect.
• Having a positive view of certain emotions can have a huge effect. We have a tendency in society to feel that we are wrong not to feel happiness or to feel anxiety and try to avoid these emotions. What Robson advocates is not to suppress such emotions, but to feel them and crucially to recognise their benefits. He cites examples of how anger can help athletes perform better and nerves can help students succeed in exams. For me these two facts are like a beacon - they tell us that informing someone about this effect can perform better and have a more positive view of their own emotions.

Summary

For me the Expectation Effect illuminated that we behave according to expectation, often in ways that we may not realise. Moreover we have the power to change our own expectations to help us navigate life better. I expect that was illuminating and you’ll read this from cover to cover. Good luck!