How Other People’s Unspoken Expectations Control Us

I just read a Psyblog about how other people's expectations control our behaviors and vice versa, our expectations control their behaviors. (To an extent) The article talks about a study that was performed where a group of males and a group of females have just met and then are given headsets and microphones to talk to one another. They are given a picture of either a person that is rated an 8 out of 10 for attractiveness or a 2 out of 10 for attractiveness. They are told that the picture of the person they were given is who they are talking to, however it is actually the opposite. The experiment then is supposed to show how we react when we think we are talking to someone we are attracted to or someone we are not, and what our expectations are. Sometimes we assume that because someone is good looking that they are probably, smart, social, and humorous, obviously this is not always the case. The results of the study showed that when females thought they were talking to an attractive male they tended to enjoy the conversation more and talked more animatedly. The men of course went along with it even though they may have been rated a 2 out of 10, so the female had no idea who she was talking to. What the study proves is that we as humans tend to change our behavior to match other people's expectations. The article goes on to say that we are influencing each other constantly and the majority of the time our expectations are based on stereotypes. I found the article interesting because it makes me think whether or not I have ever changed my actions around certain people trying to live up to their expectations.