Nicholas Epley
Nicholas Epley is the John Templeton Keller Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science and faculty director of the Roman Family Center for Decision Research at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He studies social cognition and is the author of Mindwise and A Little More Social: How Small Choices Create Unexpected Happiness, Health, and Connection.
People Underestimate How Rewarding Small Social Interactions Will Be
University of Chicago behavioral scientist Nicholas Epley argues that people routinely forgo small acts of connection because they wrongly expect them to be awkward, unwelcome or unrewarding. In a research-focused Aspen Ideas Festival conversation with Kelly Corrigan, Epley says that misprediction affects encounters with strangers and friends alike, from starting a conversation to expressing gratitude or offering condolences. His case is not for constant sociability, but for testing the pessimistic forecasts that keep people from reaching out.
People Underestimate How Often Attempts at Connection Will Be Welcomed
Behavioral scientist Nicholas Epley argues in a TED talk that people routinely avoid social connection because they misjudge how warmly others will respond. Drawing on experiments involving more than 30,000 people, he says this “misplaced pessimism” leads people to skip conversations, compliments, gratitude and offers of support that are usually received better than they expect. His prescription is modest: treat social fear as a forecast to be tested, and when in doubt, reach out.