Mistakenly Seeking Solitude
Epley & Schroeder (2014) · Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 143(5)
We use this paper in 5 places in the academy · 3 stated limits
What the study found
In nine experiments with more than 800 commuters, people who were told to talk to a stranger enjoyed the journey more than people who sat alone. Another group had predicted the opposite.
In nine experiments, people who were told to talk to a stranger had a better experience than people who were told to sit alone. Other participants had predicted the reverse. Nobody who tried a conversation reported being turned away.
What the study cannot prove
The study was done with commuters on Chicago trains and buses. It did not test other cultures, other settings, or what happens when you do it repeatedly.
Limits we note on the exercises
Most of it was done on trains and buses in Chicago. Nobody has tested whether it holds in other cultures.
The study was done on trains and buses in Chicago, not at parties.
The studies were done on public transport and in cabs, mostly in Chicago. The effect has been repeated many times, but a commuter train is a low-pressure place where people already share a situation.
Where we use it
We use this paper in 5 places in the academy. If the paper turned out to be wrong, we would have to change everything in this list. Some of the exercise instructions below are part of Gold. You can read every finding for free.
In the topics · 2
In the videos · 2
On the courage ladder · 1
Other papers used in the same places
These papers are used in the same topics and videos as this one. That does not mean the papers agree with each other. It only means that the same exercises use both.
The Liking Gap in Conversations: Do People Like Us More Than We Think?
Boothby, Cooney, Sandstrom & Clark (2018)It Doesn't Hurt to Ask: Question-Asking Increases Liking
Huang, Yeomans, Brooks, Minson & Gino (2017)Overly Shallow?: Miscalibrated Expectations Create a Barrier to Deeper Conversation
Kardas, Kumar & Epley (2022)Pupil Dilation as an Index of Preferred Mutual Gaze Duration
Binetti, Harrison, Coutrot, Johnston & Mareschal (2016)A Cognitive Model of Social Phobia
Clark & Wells (1995)If You Need Help, Just Ask: Underestimating Compliance With Direct Requests for Help
Flynn & Lake (2008)Research
A real study. We tell you what it found, how many people were in it, and what it can't prove.
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