Were the 2018 Gatwick drones real?

In December 2018 Gatwick Airport shut down. 109 eyewitnesses reported sighting 170 drone flights over the airport.

All flights were grounded, and the nation braced for a terrorist attack.

But what if those sightings weren’t real but instead an imagination caused by expectations?

In today’s episode with award-winning science journalist David Robson, we explore the science of the expectation effect.

Link to the bonus episode: nudge.kit.com/86d3e39845

Become an FSB member: get.fsb.org.uk/nudge/?utm_source=nudgepodcast&…

Read the Expectation Effect: amzn.to/4dvkb3s

David’s website: davidrobson.me

David’s Substack: davidarobson.substack.com

---

Today’s sources:

Benedetti, F., Durando, J., & Vighetti, S. (2014). Nocebo and placebo modulation of hypobaric hypoxia headache involves the cyclooxygenase-prostaglandins pathway. Pain, 155(5), 921–928.

Job, V., Dweck, C. S., & Walton, G. M. (2010). Ego depletion—Is it all in your head? Implicit theories about willpower affect self-regulation. Psychological Science, 21(11), 1686–1693.

Langer, E., Djikic, M., Pirson, M., Madenci, A., & Donohue, R. (2010). Believing is seeing: Using mindlessness (mindfully) to improve visual acuity. Psychological Science, 21(5), 661–666.

Merckelbach, H., & van de Ven, V. (2001). Another white Christmas: Fantasy proneness and reports of 'hallucinatory experiences' in undergraduate students. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 32(3), 137–144.

Montes, J., Wulf, G., & Navalta, J. W. (2018). Maximal aerobic capacity can be increased by enhancing performers' expectancies. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 58(5), 744–749.

Pirson, M., Ie, A., & Langer, E. (2012). Seeing what we know, knowing what we see: Challenging the limits of visual acuity. Journal of Adult Development, 19(2), 59–67.

Robson, D. (2022). The expectation effect: How your mindset can transform your life. Canongate.