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Success Bias and Inflation Bias After Planning and Communicating Emotional Support

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Abstract

This study investigates the potential for cancer patients’ supporters to experience cognitive biases after communicating emotional support messages. A success bias was predicted, such that those who planned their messages would rate those messages as more effective in comparison with those who did not plan their messages (H1a-H1c). An inflation bias was also predicted, such that supporters would rate their messages as more effective than cancer patients who also rated the messages (H2a-H2c). One hundred laboratory participants were randomly assigned to a planning or distraction task before recording an emotional support message for a friend who had hypothetically been diagnosed with cancer. Laboratory participants rated their own messages in terms of relational assurances, problem-solving utility, and emotional awareness. Subsequently, cancer patients viewed and rated the laboratory participants’ messages on the same characteristics. Participants who planned their messages rated their messages significantly higher than those who did not plan their messages in terms of relational assurance and problem-solving utility but not emotional awareness. Irrespective of planning or distraction condition, participants also rated their messages significantly higher on all three dependent variables than did cancer patients. Supporters should be aware of the propensity to overrate their supportive abilities and guard against the assumption that planning messages results in more effective support messages.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Nikki Truscelli, Emi Hashi, Cris Tietsort, Anna Marie Campbell, Alaina Veluscek, Rosalie Fisher, and Dayna Kloeber for conducting numerous laboratory sessions during data collection.

Funding

This work was supported through internal grant money from three organizations at Arizona State University: The Hugh Downs School of Human Communication, The Graduate and Professional Student Association in conjunction with the Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development, and the Arizona State University Graduate College.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Communication and Center for Communication, Health, and the Public Good, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA, 92182-4560, USA

    Colter D. Ray

  2. Department of Communication, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Kory Floyd

  3. Hugh Downs School of Human Communication, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA

    Paul A. Mongeau

  4. Department of Counseling and Counseling Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA

    Ashley K. Randall

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  1. Colter D. Ray
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  2. Kory Floyd
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  3. Paul A. Mongeau
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  4. Ashley K. Randall
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Correspondence to Colter D. Ray.

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Ray, C.D., Floyd, K., Mongeau, P.A. et al. Success Bias and Inflation Bias After Planning and Communicating Emotional Support. J Canc Educ 35, 972–976 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-019-01550-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-019-01550-1

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