Mistakenly Seeking Solitude
Epley & Schroeder (2014) · Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 143(5)
Relied on in 5 places across the academy · 3 stated limits
What it found
In nine experiments with more than 800 commuters, those randomly assigned to talk to a stranger reported a more positive journey than those who sat in solitude — while a separate group predicted precisely the opposite.
Across nine experiments, participants randomly assigned to connect with a stranger reported a more positive experience than those assigned to solitude, while separate participants predicted the reverse. No participant who attempted a conversation reported being rebuffed.
What it does not show
Commuters on Chicago trains and buses. Nothing in it tests other cultures, other settings, or repeated exposure.
And where we carry it further
Conducted largely on Chicago commuter trains and buses; how far it travels to other cultures is untested here.
Trains and buses in Chicago, not parties.
Public transport and cabs, mostly in Chicago. It is a well-replicated effect, but a commuter train is a low-stakes setting with a shared context already supplied.
Where we rely on it
5 places in the academy. If this paper turned out to be wrong, this is the list that would have to change. Some of the instructions below are part of Gold; none of the findings are.
In the curriculum · 2
In the films · 2
On the courage ladder · 1
Cited alongside it
Papers that sit under the same topics and films. Not a claim that they agree with each other — only that the same exercises lean on 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.
Free to read, link to and quote. If we have carried this paper further than it goes, say so at contact@suaviq.com — corrections to this registry are the most useful mail we get.