On Predicting and Being Predicted

We inhabit a world full of other humans. We will cooperate with some, but most will remain strangers or competitors for resources. These potential cooperators and competitors will try to make predictions about us, as we likewise attempt to predict whether they will cooperate or compete. From the target’s perspective, such attempts at being judged and predicted should have different implications, depending on whether the one doing the predicting is a potential cooperator or competitor. Using this as the lens for the present analysis, this chapter organizes the psychological literature into a coherent framework to highlight the causes and consequences associated with predicting any given target and to paint a more complex picture of the target experience, as they decide when they will or will not be predicted. The authors conclude the chapter by offering novel predictions and shedding new light on the implications for various areas of research.