Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

5 Key excerpts on "Self-Fulfilling Prophecy"

• 

  eBook - ePub

  Prophecy, Behaviour and Change

  An Examination of Self-fulfilling Prophecies in Helping Relationships

  • Gerald G. Smale(Author)
  • 2019(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  Merton claims that essentially the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy is false. Yet by definition a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy is true, that is to say when assessed in retrospect we find that the prophesied event or condition has come about. It is not possible to assess the validity of prediction until time has passed. So we must take it that the crucial, identifying feature which makes an expectation self-fulfilling is that the result would not have come about without the intervention of the prophecy. We can carry our analysis of the mechanism one stage further by reflecting back over our examples. We see that essentially each of these self-fulfilling prophecies has three stages: first the prediction is formed; action and subsequent behaviour are then taken as a result of this prediction; this behaviour then brings about the prophesied event or behaviour. Thus, we can break down the concept of the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy into these three essential stages.

  Table 1 is designed to show these stages, admittedly in an over-simplified form, in order to demonstrate their causal relationship.

  If we take this model we can see that it is the behaviour , based on the prophecy, which causes the crucial difference between a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy and a prophecy which is not self -fulfilling; it is the behaviour of the therapist which is the difference between a prognosis and prognostic expectations. An essential feature of this behaviour is that it is an active intervention, whether deliberately planned or not.

  TABLE 1 The three stages of the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy as illustrated by the examples given

  Characteristics of self-fulfilling prophecies

  From our examples we can also tentatively suggest some more specific characteristics of self-fulfilling prophecies. First, they can work in any direction, either for better (improvement), or for worse (deterioration). Second they can be conscious or unconscious, implicit or explicit; they may come about in a fairly public, open way or as a subtle, hidden mechanism. Allport’s example shows us how they may have a reciprocal nature—setting in motion a mutually reinforcing feedback system. Finally, the status and characteristics of the prophet seem to be important variables in the potency of the prophecy.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - ePub

  Ignite a Shift

  Engaging Minds, Guiding Emotions and Driving Behavior

  • Stephen McGarvey(Author)
  • 2023(Publication Date)
  • Morgan James Publishing

    (Publisher)

  Both terms describe a phenomenon in which another person’s expectations about an individual affect that individual’s performance. In their book Pygmalion in the Classroom, Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson looked at how this phenomenon impacted students. They conducted a study that revealed a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy in which students whose teachers had high expectations of them performed well academically and students whose teachers had low expectations of them, performed poorly. In other words, the students performed exactly the way their teachers expected them to, regardless of any innate academic abilities. 21 As persuaders, we have the opportunity to consider how we, like the teachers in this study, are communicating based on our expectations of others and how our expectations may cause other people to react and behave accordingly. When we change our expectations, we can help others tap into their full potential. Key Concept: The mind is constantly altering information to make it relevant to our beliefs, previous experiences, and expectations. Whether you believe in fortune cookies or horoscopes, that you’re great or horrible at math, or that you’ve got a team that’s capable or incapable, the mind is constantly altering information to make it align with what you already believe and expect—and that knowledge is a critical element of persuasiveness. REVERSE PSYCHOLOGY In his book Sleight of Mouth, Robert Dilts tells the story of a castle under siege in the Middle Ages. 22 Enemy troops had surrounded the castle to prevent the people inside from getting any food, weapons, or other supplies from the outside

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - ePub

  Mindset Shift! Discover your Strengths Now

  Incl. Bonus – Develope potentials, consciously change beliefs & convictions for success, achieve goals with intelligence resilience & self-confidence

  • Simone Janson(Author)
  • 2025(Publication Date)
  • Best of HR – Berufebilder.de®

    (Publisher)

  Jens Korz Do you know the principle of Self-Fulfilling Prophecy? So something happens because you are convinced that it will happen. Because our perception determines the result.

  The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

  Maybe you know that from yourself or from other people, that they / we often wear exactly what we / we are convinced of:

  Then the woman who is convinced that no man will ever be serious about her gets to know only those men who treat her really badly and do not mean it seriously. A possible belief could be: "I am not lovable."

  I am not valuable? Nonsense!

  Such negative beliefs are very often generalizations that carve something rock-solid into stone that doesn't always have to be true. This often makes life difficult for us, because we are closed off from the possibility of having other, perhaps much more positive experiences.

  For example, an employee who believes that she must be paid a salary increase due to her performance and diligence. Unfortunately, she is waiting for her to offer her this increase by herself, so that her performance is seen and thus honored.

  They send this message

  Since she carries the belief "I am not valuable", she does not come up with the idea of ​​proposing or demanding a raise.

  However, the message arrives at her manager that she is satisfied with her payment and therefore there is no need for him to act. The logical consequence of this is that she doesn't get a raise and her belief "I'm not valuable" is confirmed.

  Please check your faith

  The problem of the faith listed here is due to the limiting belief that prevents the clerk from meeting her wishes and goals. It shows how people often act according to the old beliefs that arose in their childhood and adolescence.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - ePub

  Self-Fulfilling Science

  • Charles Lowe(Author)
  • 2021(Publication Date)
  • De Gruyter

    (Publisher)

  This problem will rear its head again later in this and other chapters. Now, however, I move on to consider two alternatives to characterizing self-fulfillment as it pertains to science, both of which are cited by Ferraro et al. and others from the previous chapter and can be seen as building upon and/or reacting to Merton’s account of Self-Fulfilling Prophecy.

  3.2  Reflexive prediction

  Self-fulfilling prophecies are sometimes considered to be just one of a number of phenomena characterized by their so-called reflexivity. This use of the term has its origins in mathematics, where it denotes (among other things) mathematical relations that relate every element of some set to itself. Since the mid 20th century, however, the term has come to be used in various (especially social) scientific disciplines to refer to a number of causal, ontological, logical, or other relations in which something may be said to ‘bend back’ upon itself. Given the range of fields that have employed the term – including, at least, anthropology, economics, ethnography, linguistics, and, especially, various forms of sociology – it is unsurprising that both the ‘something’ and the notion of ‘bending back’ in question vary considerably (cf. Guala 2016c , 119 – 131).

  This variance of usage suggests several ways in which an unqualified notion of reflexivity is too broad for our purposes. First, it is clear that induced self-interest is not the result of a logical or mathematical but rather a causal relation or process. Second, even if we restrict the notion to causal relations, it seems that the general notion of reflexivity, like that of the looping effect, is not inherently directional in nature. That is, while it might pick out causal effects of theories on the states of affairs they target, it does not specify that the outcome thereof will be such as to bring the world more in line with our picture of it. Finally, the sheer number and dissimilitude of various understandings of the general term are, I contend, a reason in and of itself to avoid its use. It may not be incorrect to claim that scientific self-fulfillment is or entails a kind of reflexivity; however, is not particularly enlightening.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - ePub

  The SAGE Encyclopedia of Industrial and Organizational Psychology

  • Steven G. Rogelberg(Author)
  • 2016(Publication Date)
  • SAGE Publications, Inc

    (Publisher)

  golem means “oaf” or “dumbbell” in Hebrew and Yiddish slang. Managers who expect dumbbells get dumbbells. Field experiments have shown that Golem effects can be mitigated by informing supervisors that subordinates with relatively low qualifications have high potential to succeed.

  Another variant of the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy is the Galatea effect. Named for the statue sculpted by the mythical Pygmalion, this is an intrapersonal expectancy effect involving only the worker. Self-starters fulfill their own prophecies of success; believing in their own capacity to excel, they mobilize their internal motivational, cognitive, emotional, and physical resources to sustain the effort needed for success even without any external source (e.g., a supervisor) of high expectations. However, Galatea effects can also be Golem-like. Individuals who harbor a negative self-image expect to fail; they refrain from using their skills and abilities, thereby needlessly but unintentionally fulfilling their own gloomy prophecy.

  Finally, research shows group-level expectancy effects in which a manager’s high expectations for a whole group, distinct from expectations for particular individuals, culminate in the group’s exceeding the performance of control groups. This is an especially important phenomenon in teamwork, which has emerged as an ubiquitous, defining feature of modern organizations, as well as in team sports.

  A fascinating but elusive aspect of interpersonal self-fulfilling prophecies involves the communication of expectations. Some of this communication is verbal and conscious, but much of it is not. Managers exhibit many nonverbal behaviors by which they convey their expectations, whether high or low, to subordinates. When managers expect more, they unwittingly nod their heads affirmatively more often, draw nearer physically, maintain eye contact, speak quickly, and show greater patience toward those they are supervising. These nonverbal behaviors serve to “warm” the interpersonal relationship, create a climate of support, and foster success. Other ways in which leaders favor those whom they expect more from include providing them with more input, more feedback, and more opportunities to show what they can do, whereas those whom managers expect less of are left neglected “on the bench.”

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book