ABSTRACT
If any single factor makes human social life possible and bearable, it is the ability of human beings to predict the behavior of others. One often hears that “human behavior cannot be predicted,” but some reflection will reveal that the adage is not really true. In your daily activities you constantly behave on the basis of predictions; they provide sets of assumptions and expectations upon which to act. For example, you come to class assuming that the instructor will be there to lecture; you take notes assuming that they will be of some use in furthering your intellectual development or at least your grade average; and you answer test questions assuming that the instructor reads the responses and grades according to the degree to which your answers reflect the “truths” he or she communicated and expected you to learn.
