What happens in the future matters to us. So it should not be surprising that how the future unfolds has a direct effect on how we feel. The mechanisms of expectation and the anticipation of what is about to happen, triggers the curiosity of psychologists and cognitive scientists. But it also raises questions that attract the attention of the 'practitioners' of these mechanisms.

 

It is no coincidence that the performing arts have figured prominently in attempts to understand the dynamics of expectation. Over hundreds of years, poets, actors, comedians, and musicians have developed a whole range of techniques that make use of cognitive systems that manipulate audiences in their anticipation of future events. Tricks that feed peoples tendency to anticipate the next step.