"As David Robson makes plain in this compelling book, the way we think
about the world can profoundly shape how we navigate it. Based in
science and packed with smart advice, The Expectation Effect will
expand your mind--and maybe even extend your life."
--Daniel Pink, New York Times bestselling author of When, Drive,
and To Sell Is Human
**
A journey through the cutting-edge science of how our mindset shapes
every facet of our lives, revealing how your brain holds the keys to
unlocking a better you**
What you believe can make it so.
You've heard of the placebo effect and how sugar pills can accelerate
healing. But did you know that sham heart surgeries often work just as
well as placing real stents? Or that people who think they're
particularly prone to cardiovascular disease are four times as likely to
die from cardiac arrest? Such is the power and deadly importance of the
expectation effect--how what we think will happen changes what does
happen.
Melding neuroscience with narrative, science journalist David Robson
takes readers on a deep dive into the many life zones the expectation
effect permeates. We see how people who believe stress is beneficial
become more creative when placed under strain. We see how associating
aging with wisdom can add seven plus years to your life. People say
seeing is believing but, over and over, Robson proves that the converse
is truer: believing is seeing.
The Expectation Effect is not woo-woo. You cannot think your way into
a pile of money or out of a cancer diagnosis. But just because magical
thinking is nonsense doesn't mean rational magic doesn't exist. Pointing
to accepted psychology and objective physiology, Robson gives us the
practical takeaways we need to improve our fitness, productivity,
intelligence, and happiness. Any reader who wants to take their fate
into their own hands need only pick up this book.
