Research article summary (published 29 Jun 2009):

Deconstructing the "reign of error": interpersonal warmth explains the self-fulfilling prophecy of anticipated acceptance.

Full Abstract

People's expectations of acceptance often come to create the acceptance or rejection they anticipate. The authors tested the hypothesis that interpersonal warmth is the behavioral key to this acceptance prophecy: If people expect acceptance, they will behave warmly, which in turn will lead other people to accept them; if they expect rejection, they will behave coldly, which will lead to less acceptance. A correlational study and an experiment supported this model. Study 1 confirmed that participants' warm and friendly behavior was a robust mediator of the acceptance prophecy compared to four plausible alternative explanations. Study 2 demonstrated that situational cues that reduced the risk of rejection also increased socially pessimistic participants' warmth and thus improved their social outcomes.

Author information

Author/s: Stinson, Danu Anthony (DA); Cameron, Jessica J (JJ); Wood, Joanne V (JV); Gaucher, Danielle (D); Holmes, John G (JG);

Affiliation: University of Waterloo, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. dstinson(-atsign-)uvic.ca

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Personality and social psychology bulletin (Pers Soc Psychol Bull), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Sep; vol 35 (issue 9) : pp 1165-78

Dates: Created 2009/07/31; Completed 2009/09/28;

PMID: 19571273, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 9/28/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adolescent Affect Assertiveness Character Culture Defense Mechanisms Female Humans Inhibition (Psychology) Interpersonal Relations

Interpersonal Relations Male Models, Psychological Personal Construct Theory Rejection (Psychology) Self Concept Set (Psychology) Social Behavior Social Desirability Young Adult

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