Display Settings:

Format

Send to:

Choose Destination
    Science. 1986 Oct 3;234(4772):41-6.

    Interpreting interpersonal behavior: the effects of expectancies.

    Abstract

    Attempts to understand the personal characteristics of others, in interactions with them, are complicated by the fact that one tends to find what one expects. This happens not only because processing of information is selective, but also because expectancies cause one to act in ways that elicit behavior interpretable as confirming those expectancies, even when the expectancies might have been mistaken. Studies provide ample evidence of such self-fulfilling prophecies in social interaction and are beginning to spell out the crucial steps in the process for confirming expectancies. Such studies help link the psychology of first impressions to the psychology of long-term relationships by showing how expectancies are sustained or modified through behavioral sequences that are partially determined by initial expectancies.

    PMID:
    17742633
    [PubMed]

      Supplemental Content

      Icon for HighWire Press

      Save items

      loading

      Recent activity

      Your browsing activity is empty.

      Activity recording is turned off.

      Turn recording back on

      See more...
      Write to the Help Desk