These expectations of positive or negative responses from others have been shown to lie at the heart of adult relationships as well. Geraldine Downey and her colleagues, for example, have demonstrated that people who anxiously expect negative responses from others have more fragile relationships, perceive rejection in ordinary behavior, respond to conflict and rejection in ways that undermine their relationships, and become less engaged with and do less well in their academic institutions over time (e.g, Pietrzak, Downey, & Ayduk (2005). Adult-relationship researchers have shown not only that these expectations consistently predict how well people function in relationships and interpersonal settings, but also that these beliefs are malleable (Baldwin & Dandeneau, 2005; Mikulincer & Shaver, 2007). Expectations of rejection can be particularly harmful for minority students as they try to fit into historically White institutions. Thus, Walton and Cohen (2007) developed an experimental intervention aimed at African American students and designed to increase their expectations of acceptance. Participants, first-year college students, were taught that doubts about belonging in college are common at first but short-lived. They were presented with survey statistics, as well as personal testimonies from upperclassmen, and they wrote a speech (delivered to a video camera) explaining why people’s perceptions of acceptance might change over time. Students in the control group engaged in similar activities but with respect to their political belief
How my heart sings 