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Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
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Deconstructing the "Reign of Error": Interpersonal Warmth Explains the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy of Anticipated Acceptance

Danu Anthony Stinson

University of Waterloo, dstinson{at}uvic.ca

Jessica J. Cameron

University of Manitoba

Joanne V. Wood

University of Waterloo

Danielle Gaucher

University of Waterloo

John G. Holmes

University of Waterloo

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.

Key Words: self-fulfilling prophecy • social expectations • acceptance • self-esteem • warmth

This version was published on September 1, 2009

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol. 35, No. 9, 1165-1178 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0146167209338629
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