The Expectation Effect by David Robson
I saw this book on my friend’s dining table and was instantly drawn to it, the title alone indicating that its contents could inform my hypnotherapy practise. Expectations, beliefs, stories – they amount to the same thing. I have been thinking a lot lately about the stories that we tell ourselves, how they impact our outcomes and how, as humans, we are so drawn to stories. We predict our lives through a narrative of expectation that is, as Robson explains, everywhere. “Our expectations are like the air we breathe.”
“You might assume that your body is resilient or that it is prone to sickness. You might think that you are naturally lean and sporty, or that you are predisposed to gaining weight,” explains Robson in his introduction. I have done quite a bit of people-watching in my time and I can think of individuals whose stories about what they are or are not capable of have driven the directions their lives have taken. As Robson himself says, “Our beliefs about our own capacities can influence how we cope with challenges and determine the toll they take on our physical and mental health.”
Reframe your expectations
The book is full of studies which, Robson quickly points out, have scientific experiments to back them up. He is keen to distance himself from Rhonda Byrne’s The Secret which claims that ‘anything you desire’ is available to you through the Law of Attraction. No, in his book, Robson use neuroscience, not pseudoscience. He describes how, in many contexts (including exercise and fitness; nutrition and diet; stress and anxiety; even aging) if we reframe our beliefs and expectations, we can enhance our results. When exercising, train your mind as well as your body:- the belief that we will never achieve fitness ensures that we do not. Do not ‘diet’ but instead ‘take control of your nutrition’. Diets, associated in our minds with deprivation, will leave us feeling hungry again very quickly, encouraging a binge on unhealthy foods. If instead we choose healthy, hearty and satisfying meals that will keep our bodies sated for a long time, our weight loss goals suddenly become a lot more achievable. Reframe stress as a performance enhancer that keeps us on our toes. When it comes to aging, if we let go of elderly stereotypes and keep learning new things, the speed with which our individual cells age actually slows down.
What company do you keep?
The people with whom we surround ourselves is also important. I have one friend who leaves me feeling inspired whenever I see her. As Robson explains, “expectations can be transmitted between individuals through social contagion.” This relates to the negative as well as to the positive so, if you have people in your life who drag you down and leave you feeling deflated, maybe it’s time to let go of, or rewrite, those alliances.
Placebo and nocebo
Robson also explains the placebo and the less well-known nocebo effects. We know that the a placebo can describe a sugar pill with no medicinal benefit, except the expectation in the patient that it will work. Studies have shown good results using placebos. The nocebo relates to a person experiencing the expected negative side effects of the medication. Robson describes in his own experience when he got terrible migraines after starting a new medication, until he changed his mind-set and understood instead that the headaches were the result of a nocebo expectation. The headaches stopped.
Be specific
The book is readable. Each chapter addresses a certain area of belief. Robson is clear that this is not about general optimism, but about specific beliefs, therefore it can be helpful for you to focus on the chapter that is relevant to your life. Each chapter ends with messages to help you to change your expectations, bringing a bit of self-help to the science of his examples.
The Expectation Effect by David Robson, published by Canongate Books
Rebecca Bartholomew, 30 April 2022
