Abstract
We examined the relationship between affective expectations and experience in individuals varying in anhedonia. Individuals with anhedonia often show deficits in anticipatory pleasure but enjoy activities more than they expect they will. The purposes of this research were to (1) test whether we can manipulate the affective expectations of individuals varying in anhedonia, and (2) gain insight into how expectations affect enjoyment of activities in these individuals. In this experiment, participants were given instructions to induce high or low expectations before watching an amusing Candid Camera video. Group assignment was randomized. Expected and experienced amusement ratings were collected before and after viewing the video, respectively. We ran this experiment in two samples: MTurk and university students. The high expectation manipulation increased the expected amusement reported by individuals both high and low on anhedonia. Raising the expectations of individuals high and low on anhedonia led to greater levels experienced amusement and interest in engaging in similar activities in the future. Future research should determine whether we can use expectation effects to improve motivation in anhedonic individuals, so that they can engage in more enjoyable activities and improve their treatment outcomes.
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