Deconstructing the “Reign of Error” - Interpersonal Warmth Explains the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy of Anticipated Acceptance

Oct 22, 2026

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People’s expectations of acceptance frequently generate the acceptance or rejection they anticipate. The authors test the hypothesis that interpersonal warmth is the behavioral mechanism underlying this self-fulfilling prophecy: expecting acceptance leads people to act warmly, increasing others’ acceptance, whereas expecting rejection leads people to act coldly, reducing acceptance. A correlational study and an experiment support the model. Study 1 identifies warm, friendly behavior as a robust mediator, and Study 2 shows that cues reducing rejection risk increase warmth and improve social outcomes for socially pessimistic participants.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Hypothesis and Model of Acceptance

Warmth as the Behavioral Key

Evidence From Studies

Study 1: Mediation Test

Study 2: Situational Cues and Outcomes

Implications of the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: [https://www. researchgate. net/publication/26334860](https://www. researchgate. net/publication/26334860) Deconstructing the "Reign of Error": Interpersonal Warmth Explains the SelfFulﬁlling Prophecy of Anticipated Acceptance Article in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · August 2009 DOI: 10. 1177/0146167209338629 · Source: PubMed CITATIONS 33 READS 363 5 authors, including: Danu Anthony Stinson University of Victoria 45 PUBLICATIONS 572 CITATIONS Jessica J. Cameron University of Manitoba 41 PUBLICATIONS 545 CITATIONS John G Holmes University of Waterloo 116 PUBLICATIONS 11,697 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE All content following this page was uploaded by Danu Anthony Stinson on 30 October 2014. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin [http://psp.sagepub.com](http://psp.sagepub.com) Deconstructing the "Reign of Error": Interpersonal Warmth Explains the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy of Anticipated Acceptance Danu Anthony Stinson, Jessica J. Cameron, Joanne V. Wood, Danielle Gaucher and John G. Holmes Pers Soc Psychol Bull 2009; 35; 1165 originally published online Jul 1, 2009; DOI: 10. 1177/0146167209338629 The online version of this article can be found at: [http://psp.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/35/9/1](http://psp.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/35/9/1) 165 Published by: [http://www.sagepublications.com](http://www.sagepublications.com) On behalf of: Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc. Additional services and information for Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin can be found at: Email Alerts: [http://psp.sagepub.com/cgi/alerts](http://psp.sagepub.com/cgi/alerts) Subscriptions: [http://psp.sagepub.com/subscriptions](http://psp.sagepub.com/subscriptions) Reprints: [http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.nav](http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.nav)[ ](http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.nav)Permissions: [http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav](http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav)[ ](http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav)Citations [http://psp.sagepub.com/cgi/content/refs/35/9/1](http://psp.sagepub.com/cgi/content/refs/35/9/1) 165 Downloaded from [http://psp.sagepub.com](http://psp.sagepub.com at UNIV OF WATERLOO on September 8)[ at UNIV OF WATERLOO on September 8](http://psp.sagepub.com at UNIV OF WATERLOO on September 8), 2009 Deconstructing the “Reign of Error”: Interpersonal Warmth Explains the SelfFulfilling Prophecy of Anticipated Acceptance Danu Anthony Stinson University of Waterloo Jessica J. Cameron University of Manitoba Joanne V. Wood Danielle Gaucher 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. Keywords: self-fulfilling prophecy; social expectations; acceptance; self-esteem; warmth The specious validity of the self-fulfilling prophecy creates a reign of error. For the prophet will cite the actual course of events as proof that he was right from the very beginning. R. K. Merton, 1948 Andrew was in line at the grocery store when he noticed that the wome

FAQs

What mechanism do the authors propose for the self-fulfilling prophecy of anticipated acceptance?

They propose that interpersonal warmth is the behavioral key. Expectations shape warmth-related behavior, which then influences others’ acceptance.

How did Study 1 test the acceptance prophecy mechanism?

Study 1 used a correlational approach and confirmed that warm and friendly behavior mediated the acceptance prophecy compared with alternative explanations.

What did Study 2 show about reducing rejection risk and social outcomes?

Study 2 demonstrated that situational cues lowering rejection risk increased socially pessimistic participants’ warmth, which improved their social outcomes.

Oct 22, 2026

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