--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I always expect people to behave much…" description: "\"I always expect people to behave much better than I do. When they actually behave worse, I am frankly incredulous.\" — Elaine Dundy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7df/elaine-dundy-10668_behave_i-always-expect-people-to-behave-much-be_2454478.png" --- # I always expect people to behave much better than I do… ![“I always expect people to behave much better than I do. When they actually behave worse, I am frankly incredulous.” quote by Elaine Dundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7df/elaine-dundy-10668_behave_i-always-expect-people-to-behave-much-be_2454478.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7df/elaine-dundy-10668_behave_i-always-expect-people-to-behave-much-be_2454478.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7df/elaine-dundy-10668_behave_i-always-expect-people-to-behave-much-be_2454478.png) > “I always expect people to behave much better than I do. When they actually behave worse, I am frankly incredulous.” [Elaine Dundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-dundy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker expects others to act better than themselves, and feels shocked when they act worse. **In simple terms:** Expects others to be better, surprised by their poor behavior Key Takeaway Adjust expectations and accept human inconsistency Themes expectations disappointment human nature Mood skeptical thoughtful Type social psychological When to use this quote - workplace interactions - friendships - family gatherings Key Concepts cognitive bias social perception emotional regulation Questions to Reflect On - How realistic are your expectations of others? - What can you do when expectations are unmet? A Different Perspective Idealistic expectations can damage relationships ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actually Behave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actually-behave-599585/) [Behave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behave/) [Behave Better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behave-better-364169/) [Behave Worse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behave-worse-599583/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Worse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worse/) [Worse Frankly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worse-frankly-599584/) ## Related quotes > [Well, I'll put it this way: you can certainly say belief in God makes people behave worse. That can be proved beyond a doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/well-i-ll-put-it-this-way-you-can-certainly-say-belief-in-god-makes/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“We are full of anarchy. We take our clothes off because we shouldn't take our clothes off. And we behave worse in other countries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/we-are-full-of-anarchy-we-take-our-clothes-off-because-we-shouldn-t/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [I always go back to how people behave. If you watch how people actually behave in a situation, it's very simple and honest and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-de-niro/i-always-go-back-to-how-people-behave-if-you-watch-how-people/) [Robert De Niro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-de-niro/) > [When I saw myself on TV, it was a big eye-opener. I saw the way I operate in a kitchen, the way I actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonia-lofaso/when-i-saw-myself-on-tv-it-was-a-big-eye-opener-i-saw-the-way-i/) [Antonia Lofaso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonia-lofaso/) > [“Wouldn't economics make a lot more sense if it were based on how people actually behave, instead of how they should behave?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/wouldn-t-economics-make-a-lot-more-sense-if-it-were-based-on-how/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [“There are some people just the thought of whom makes us behave better.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-funder/there-are-some-people-just-the-thought-of-whom-makes-us-behave-better/) [Anna Funder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-funder/) > [“If you felt better you would behave better but it is equally true that if you behave better you will feel better.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-parry/if-you-felt-better-you-would-behave-better-but-it-is-equally-true/) [Robin Parry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-parry/) > [Instead of channeling Trump, and attacking the courts in ways that are as bad as or worse than the president's, public officials who ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-t-conway-iii/instead-of-channeling-trump-and-attacking-the-courts-in-ways-that-are/) [George T. Conway III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-t-conway-iii/) > [Give children healthy food and they behave better at school, concentrate more in class and perform better in exams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-rayner/give-children-healthy-food-and-they-behave-better-at-school/) [Angela Rayner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-rayner/) > [“Women, as usual, were expected to behave better than men, and inevitably attracted criticism for doing things that men were licensed to do with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/women-as-usual-were-expected-to-behave-better-than-men-and-inevitably/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“As individuals we tend to climb to our levels of incompetence. We behave as though up is better and more is better, and yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-j-peter/as-individuals-we-tend-to-climb-to-our-levels-of-incompetence-we/) [Laurence J. Peter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-j-peter/) > [“pretty girls behave better when you ignore them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chetan-bhagat/pretty-girls-behave-better-when-you-ignore-them/) [Chetan Bhagat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chetan-bhagat/) > [If you think positively instead of negatively, you'll behave better and you'll feel better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-schlessinger/if-you-think-positively-instead-of-negatively-you-ll-behave-better/) [Laura Schlessinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-schlessinger/) > [“Most of us have been deeply shaped by the false notion that in order for people to behave better they need to feel worse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-lakshmi-piepzna-samarasinha/most-of-us-have-been-deeply-shaped-by-the-false-notion-that-in-order/) [Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-lakshmi-piepzna-samarasinha/) > [With people too, you constantly think, "If I'm nice to people and treat them well, they'll appreciate it and behave better." They won't, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-peart/with-people-too-you-constantly-think-if-i-m-nice-to-people-and-treat/) [Neil Peart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-peart/) ## More by Elaine Dundy > [What’s the use of remembering anything? If it was unpleasant it was unpleasant and if it was pleasant it’s over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-dundy/what-s-the-use-of-remembering-anything-if-it-was-unpleasant-it-was/) [Elaine Dundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-dundy/) > [“I'm a real phony, one of those half-baked hot-house plants we're growing nowadays, instead of the honest-to-God two-fisted women we should be...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-dundy/i-m-a-real-phony-one-of-those-half-baked-hot-house-plants-we-re/) [Elaine Dundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-dundy/) > [“He tried to kiss me. One of the few things that had impressed me in college was a Southern girl’s account o how she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-dundy/he-tried-to-kiss-me-one-of-the-few-things-that-had-impressed-me-in/) [Elaine Dundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-dundy/) > [... I was merely a disinterested spectator at the Banquet of Life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-dundy/i-was-merely-a-disinterested-spectator-at-the-banquet-of-life/) [Elaine Dundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-dundy/) > [“You're not playing the game," he said grimly. "English gossip isn't supposed to get back to the person it's about.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-dundy/you-re-not-playing-the-game-he-said-grimly-english-gossip-isn-t/) [elaine dundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-dundy/) > [“I have never known anyone with less money and less visible means of getting hold of it. He had slept around everywhere, from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-dundy/i-have-never-known-anyone-with-less-money-and-less-visible-means-of/) [Elaine Dundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-dundy/) > [The vehemence of my moral indignation surprised me. Was I beginning to have standards and principles, and, oh dear, scruples? What were they, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-dundy/the-vehemence-of-my-moral-indignation-surprised-me-was-i-beginning-to/) [Elaine Dundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-dundy/) > [The world is wide, wide, wide, and I am young, young, young, and we’re all going to live forever!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-dundy/the-world-is-wide-wide-wide-and-i-am-young-young-young-and-we-re-all/) [Elaine Dundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-dundy/) > [I find I always have to write something on a steamed mirror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-dundy/i-find-i-always-have-to-write-something-on-a-steamed-mirror/) [Elaine Dundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-dundy/) > [“I imagined there must be hundreds and thousands and millions of people quiet in the dark out there, waiting with baited breath for me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-dundy/i-imagined-there-must-be-hundreds-and-thousands-and-millions-of/) [Elaine Dundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-dundy/) > [“What did I feel? Appalled. Astonished. Bewildered. I thought I was doing so well. I thought I was charming the hell out of him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-dundy/what-did-i-feel-appalled-astonished-bewildered-i-thought-i-was-doing/) [Elaine Dundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-dundy/) > [ “\[T\]he question actors most often get asked is how they can bear saying the same things over and over again night after night, but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-dundy/t-he-question-actors-most-often-get-asked-is-how-they-can-bear-saying/) [Elaine Dundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-dundy/) > [“No matter what you do you've got to try to do it well. Otherwise, it's unbearable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-dundy/no-matter-what-you-do-you-ve-got-to-try-to-do-it-well-otherwise-it-s/) [Elaine Dundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-dundy/) > [“Hated France when I first got over here. Got on the train at Le Havre, and looked out of the window and thought it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-dundy/hated-france-when-i-first-got-over-here-got-on-the-train-at-le-havre/) [Elaine Dundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-dundy/) > [“I remember a little later wondering why things always turn out to be diametrically opposed to what you expect them to be. It's no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-dundy/i-remember-a-little-later-wondering-why-things-always-turn-out-to-be/) [Elaine Dundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-dundy/) [Explore all 64 Elaine Dundy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-dundy/) ## More Behave quotes > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To behave creatively in art means behavior with skill; and skill comes from discipline, not derangement. The artist who knows the rules -and proportion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burne-hogarth/to-behave-creatively-in-art-means-behavior-with-skill-and-skill-comes/) [Burne Hogarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burne-hogarth/) > [You can behave as badly as you like in America. Nobody notices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/you-can-behave-as-badly-as-you-like-in-america-nobody-notices/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [“Then Olympus it is. But do try to behave. I know it’s hard for you, but… (Delphine) I won’t piss on the floor. (Jericho)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/then-olympus-it-is-but-do-try-to-behave-i-know-it-s-hard-for-you-but/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [The possibility of saying anything about a thing rests on the assumption that it preserves its identity, or continues to be the same thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-knight/the-possibility-of-saying-anything-about-a-thing-rests-on-the/) [Frank Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-knight/) > [Why does man behave like perfect idiot? This is the problem I wish to deal with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-szent-gyorgyi/why-does-man-behave-like-perfect-idiot-this-is-the-problem-i-wish-to/) [Albert Szent-Gyorgyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-szent-gyorgyi/) > [This is a time in my life where I'm gonna behave like an elegant human being. Or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-stritch/this-is-a-time-in-my-life-where-i-m-gonna-behave-like-an-elegant/) [Elaine Stritch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-stritch/) > [Most people, even in simple risky situations, don't behave the way the theory of utility would have them behave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-raiffa/most-people-even-in-simple-risky-situations-don-t-behave-the-way-the/) [Howard Raiffa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-raiffa/) > [As a club, we have an educational purpose: to give back to those people who love Arsenal so that they learn moral values from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arsene-wenger/as-a-club-we-have-an-educational-purpose-to-give-back-to-those-people/) [Arsene Wenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arsene-wenger/) > [What astonishes many of us is not so much that human nature is fundamentally corrupt; we are astonished rather that it does not behave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-irving-seiden/what-astonishes-many-of-us-is-not-so-much-that-human-nature-is/) [Morton Irving Seiden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-irving-seiden/) > [Do we behave out of fear of punishment, or out of the demands of our heart? For me, it is the latter, as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-we-behave-out-of-fear-of-punishment-or-out-of-the-demands-of-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you are in hard labor, remember that the length of labor is usually proportional to the number of people around. Avoid the presence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-odent/when-you-are-in-hard-labor-remember-that-the-length-of-labor-is/) [Michel Odent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-odent/) > [The superpowers often behave like two heavily armed blind men feeling their way around a room, each believing himself in mortal peril from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-superpowers-often-behave-like-two-heavily-armed-blind-men-feeling/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For political and bureaucratic reasons, governments at all levels are telling far less to the public than to insiders about how to prepare for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/for-political-and-bureaucratic-reasons-governments-at-all-levels-are/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) [Browse all 1,587 Behave quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behave/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I always expect people to behave much better than I do. 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