Golub Sarit A, Gilbert Daniel T, Wilson Timothy D
Department of Psychology, Hunter College, CUNY, USA.
Emotion. 2009 Apr;9(2):277-81. doi: 10.1037/a0014716.
Although negative expectations may have the benefit of softening the blow when a negative event occurs, they also have the cost of making people feel worse while they are waiting for that event to happen. Three studies suggest that the cost of negative expectations is greater than the benefit. In 2 laboratory experiments and a field study, people felt worse when they were expecting a negative than a positive event; but once the event occurred, their prior expectations had no measurable influence on how they felt. These results suggest that anticipating one's troubles may be a poor strategy for maximizing positive affect.
尽管消极预期可能在负面事件发生时有减轻打击的好处，但它们也有让人们在等待该事件发生时感觉更糟的代价。三项研究表明，消极预期的代价大于好处。在两项实验室实验和一项实地研究中，人们在预期负面事件时比预期正面事件时感觉更糟；但一旦事件发生，他们之前的预期对他们的感受没有可衡量的影响。这些结果表明，预测自己的麻烦可能不是最大化积极情绪的好策略。
