Joker
April 18, 2008, 1:22pm
1
Behavioral confirmation
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavioural_confirmation
Add that with…
Fake it till you make it.
“Fake it till you make it” (also called “act as if”) is a common catchphrase that means to imitate confidence so that as the confidence produces success, it will generate real confidence[1]. The purpose is to avoid getting stuck in a self fulfilling prophecy related to one’s fear of not being confident, e.g., by thinking, “I can’t ask that girl out because she would sense my lack of confidence.” The article How You Too Can Be an Optimist in Prevention points out, “In research at Wake Forest University, for example, scientists asked a group of 50 students to act like extroverts for 15 minutes in a group discussion, even if they didn’t feel like it. The more assertive and energetic the students acted, the happier they were”[2].
It is often recommended as a method of overcoming depression. In this case, the idea is to go through the routines of life as if one were enjoying them, despite the fact that initially it feels forced, and continue doing this until the happiness becomes real[3]. This is an example of a positive feedback loop.
The phrase is often associated with Alcoholics Anonymous. AA to Z; An Addictionary of the 12-Step Culture describes it as a “suggestion often made to NEWCOMERS who feel they can’t get the program and will go back to old behavior. The suggestion implies that if the newcomer acts according to the steps and teachings of the program, then the program will begin to work and the anxiety will fall away”[4].
The technique is somewhat controversial in sales settings; Take Your Team to the Top claims “That you can’t ‘fake it till you make it’ because you can never be consciously aware of all the things that give you away as a fraud”[5].
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fake_it_till_you_make_it
Self fulfilling prophecy.
A self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true. Although examples of such prophecies can be found in human literature as far back as ancient Greece and ancient India, it is 20th-century sociologist Robert K. Merton who is credited with coining the expression “self-fulfilling prophecy” and formalizing its structure and consequences. In his book Social Theory and Social Structure, Merton gives as a feature of the self-fulfilling prophecy:
“ The self-fulfilling prophecy is, in the beginning, a false definition of the situation evoking a new behaviour which makes the original false conception come ‘true’. This specious validity of the self-fulfilling prophecy perpetuates a reign of error. For the prophet will cite the actual course of events as proof that he was right from the very beginning.[1] â€
In other words, a true prophetic statement — a prophecy declared as truth when it is not — may sufficiently influence people, either through fear or logical confusion, so that their reactions ultimately fulfill the false prophecy.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self_fulfilling_prophecy
Subject expectancy effect.
The Subject-expectancy effect, in science, is a cognitive bias that occurs in science when a subject expects a given result and therefore unconsciously affects the outcome of an experiment or treatment, or reports the expected result. Because it can skew the results of experiments (especially on human subjects), double-blind methodology is used to eliminate the effect.
Like the Observer-expectancy effect, it is often a cause of “odd” results in many experiments. The Subject-expectancy effect is most commonly found in medicine, where it can result in the subject experiencing the Placebo effect or nocebo effect, depending on how the influence pans out.
An example of a scenario involving these various effects is as follows: A woman goes to her doctor with an issue. The doctor diagnoses with certainty, and then clearly explains the diagnosis and the expected route towards recovery. If he does this convincingly, calming her, removing fear and installing hope, she will likely, through the positive expectancy, experience the placebo effect, aiding in her recovery. On the other hand, if her doctor had had little time for her, was uncertain about the diagnosis, and had given her a prescription, combined with a message along the lines of, “this may help sometimes,” and added a message about possible horrible side effects (combined, say, with the patient having talked to a neighbor who also speaks along the same lines about the horrible side effect), then the chance of negative subject-expectancy, or nocebo, becomes quite large.
The subject expectancy effect is also clearly seen in psychotherapy.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subject-expectancy_effect
Cyrene
April 18, 2008, 3:32pm
2
How are these new exactly? What books do you read joker? do you read?
Joker
April 18, 2008, 3:35pm
3
They are new relevations to me in that I have just come across them.
All kinds.
Of course I don’t. How else would I be able to chat on a internet forum?
MagsJ
April 18, 2008, 3:36pm
4
…it sounds like you are talking about ‘the power of positive thought’ Joker - I use it all the time!
Try it - it works every time…
Joker
April 18, 2008, 3:48pm
5
It doesn’t work for me. ( I must be immune or somthing.)
MagsJ
April 18, 2008, 4:07pm
6
…the mind is the strongest tool we possess, so it should work, theoretically speaking? perhaps your heart isn’t in it: therefore rendering it moot!
If you believe it/want it, it will work in your favour - I guarantee it!
301.70
April 18, 2008, 7:24pm
7
There’s a TV show about this called Faking It , channel4.com/entertainment/t … /fakingit/ . The catch is, it’s a lie; it is more or less pop-Existentialism; Pierre is always just acting at being a waiter; Faking It undermines authority; some people can find it motivating.
but you’ve got to want it!