---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...when people are expecting to see…"
description: "\"“...when people are expecting to see nothing that is usually what they see.”\" — Diane Setterfield"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a67/diane-setterfield-1008_expecting_when-people-are-expecting-to-see-nothing_2925030.png"
---

#  ...when people are expecting to see nothing that is…

![“...when people are expecting to see nothing that is usually what they see.” quote by Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a67/diane-setterfield-1008_expecting_when-people-are-expecting-to-see-nothing_2925030.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a67/diane-setterfield-1008_expecting_when-people-are-expecting-to-see-nothing_2925030.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a67/diane-setterfield-1008_expecting_when-people-are-expecting-to-see-nothing_2925030.png)

> ““...when people are expecting to see nothing that is usually what they see.””

[Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

People often see what they expect, shaping perception through anticipation.

**In simple terms:** Expectations shape perception.

Key Takeaway

Question your assumptions.

Themes

perception expectations psychology

Mood

reflective thoughtful

Type

observational philosophical

When to use this quote

- daily interactions
- media consumption
- decision making
- interpersonal communication

Key Concepts

cognitive bias subjective reality

Questions to Reflect On

- How do your expectations influence your observations?
- What evidence challenges your assumptions?

A Different Perspective

Expectations can be misleading if not examined.

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[Expecting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expecting/) [Expecting Usually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expecting-usually-4281302/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Expecting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-expecting-1447879/) [Usually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/usually/)

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> [“We’ve been expecting you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/we-ve-been-expecting-you/)

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> [Usually people just hire me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-van-sant/usually-people-just-hire-me/)

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> [Usually, I don't just talk and not back it up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquem-griffin/usually-i-don-t-just-talk-and-not-back-it-up/)

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> [“The one who truly sacrifices the most is usually the one who talks about it the least”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-stocker/the-one-who-truly-sacrifices-the-most-is-usually-the-one-who-talks/)

[Todd Stocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-stocker/)

> [There's usually not a lot of rehearsal when you do films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-bello/there-s-usually-not-a-lot-of-rehearsal-when-you-do-films/)

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## More by Diane Setterfield

> [“They are more real than the books on the shelves, books that are sketched with the barest hint of a line here and there,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/they-are-more-real-than-the-books-on-the-shelves-books-that-are/)

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> [“He was the first of my ghosts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/he-was-the-first-of-my-ghosts/)

[Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/)

> [“It was like living entirely inside a book.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/it-was-like-living-entirely-inside-a-book/)

[Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/)

> [“Then something rang a bell in his mind. What”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/then-something-rang-a-bell-in-his-mind-what/)

[Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/)

> [What better way to get to know someone than through her choice and treatment of books?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/what-better-way-to-get-to-know-someone-than-through-her-choice-and/)

[Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/)

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[Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/)

> [“Yesterday or the day before, while I had been going about my business, quietly and in private, some unknown person—some stranger—had gone to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/yesterday-or-the-day-before-while-i-had-been-going-about-my-business/)

[Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/)

> [“the Missus stood like a ghost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/the-missus-stood-like-a-ghost/)

[Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/)

> [“But perhaps the answer is to stop writing altogether, for when I do write, even now as I write this very sentence, this very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/but-perhaps-the-answer-is-to-stop-writing-altogether-for-when-i-do/)

[Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/)

> [Our clients' faces, with the customary outward paleness and inner glow of the book lover.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/our-clients-faces-with-the-customary-outward-paleness-and-inner-glow/)

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[Explore all 292 Diane Setterfield quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/)

## More Expecting quotes

> [I've always made sure that I tour with bands that people aren't expecting me to tour with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mayer-hawthorne/i-ve-always-made-sure-that-i-tour-with-bands-that-people-aren-t/)

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[William Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carey/)

> [ It was at Harvard not quite forty years ago that I went into an anechoic \[totally silent\] chamber not expecting in that silent room… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/it-was-at-harvard-not-quite-forty-years-ago-that-i-went-into-an/)

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