Mind Over Mind

How our fast-forward minds make something out of nothing

From a healing placebo to a run on the bank, the self-fulfilling potential of expectations has been observed for years. But now, neuroscientists and psychologists are beginning to solve the mysteries of our expectant brain and applying their findings to fields ranging from medicine to sports to education.

Mind over Mind explores the frontiers of expectations research, revealing how our brains work in the future tense and how our assumptions-about the next few milliseconds or the next few years-bend reality. It shows how expectations can sometimes make us healthier, stronger, smarter, and more successful while other times leave us depressed and defeated.
Along the way, author Chris Berdik uncovers some fascinating phenomena, including:

- How cheering for a team can backfire.
- How optical illusions can alleviate pain.
- What our faces say about our financial future.
- How stereotypes can hurt or help student test scores.

Expectations can heal our bodies and make us stronger, smarter, and more successful in many ways, or they can leave us in agony, crush our spirits, and undermine our free will. If we can unlock the power of expectations, we can maximize their potential and avoid their pitfalls.

Chris Berdik is a science journalist and a former staff editor at The Atlantic and Mother Jones. He has written for numerous publications, including New Scientist, The Boston Globe, Washington Post, and San Diego Union-Tribune. He lives in Boston.