self-fulfilling prophecy
(noun)
A prediction that, by being voiced, causes itself to come true.
Examples of self-fulfilling prophecy in the following topics:
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Teachers' Expectations
- This is a case of a self-fulfilling prophecy, or the Pygmalion effect.
- The Pygmalion effect is a form of self-fulfilling prophecy, and, in this respect, people will internalize their negative label, and those with positive labels succeed accordingly.
- Rosenthal posited that biased expectancies can essentially affect reality and create self-fulfilling prophecies as a result.
- Research on the stereotype threat has shown that gender stereotypes decrease the mathematical self-esteem of many female students, and that this lack of academic confidence leads to anxiety and poorer performance on math exams.
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Ray Rist's Research
- In his 1970 article, "Student Social Class and Teachers' Expectations: The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy of Ghetto Education," Ray Rist observed an African American classroom with an African American teacher.
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The Labeling Approach
- The theory is concerned with how the self-identity and behavior of individuals may be determined or influenced by the terms used to describe or classify them.
- It is associated with the concepts of self-fulfilling prophecy and stereotyping .
- Certain expectations are placed on these individuals and, over time, they unconsciously change their behavior to fulfill them.
- Criteria for different mental illnesses, he believed, are not consistently fulfilled by those who are diagnosed with them because all of these people suffer from the same disorder.
- Criteria are simply fulfilled because the "mentally ill" believe they are supposed to act a certain way—over time, they come to do so.
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Causes of Banking Crises
- There is a profound truth to this, creating an interdependent and potentially self-fulfilling investment thought process.
- As the market falls, investors create a positive feedback loop and self-fulfilling prophecy due to a lack of confidence that drives it down even further.
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Cultural and Societal Influences on Child Development
- American children raised by authoritative parents tend to have high self-esteem and social skills.
- Importantly, stereotype threat has been shown to be something of a self-fulfilling prophecy—not because the negative stereotype is accurate, but because fear of fulfilling that stereotype can lead to additional anxiety, which in turn can reduce performance.
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Labeling Theory
- The theory is concerned with how the self-identity and the behavior of individuals may be determined or influenced by the terms used to describe or classify them.
- George Herbert Mead posited that the self is socially constructed and reconstructed through the interactions which each person has with the community.
- They become a self-fulfilling prophecy: an individual who is labeled has little choice but to conform to the essential meaning of that judgment.
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How Culture and Society Impact the Elderly
- The stereotypes, discrimination, and devaluing of the elderly seen in ageism can have significant effects on the elderly, affecting their self-esteem, emotional well-being, and behavior.
- Studies have also specifically shown that when older people hear these stereotypes about their supposed incompetence and uselessness, they perform worse on measures of competence and memory; in effect, these stereotypes become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
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The Intellectually Gifted
- This may lead them to feel self-conscious about being different or to be bullied by their peers.
- By labeling some children as "gifted" and others as "not gifted," schools can create a self-fulfilling prophecy where those who are not accepted into the program do not perform as well as those who are accepted.
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Arguments For and Against Inflation Targeting Policy Interventions
- Further, the public's expectations about inflation tend to be a self-fulfilling prophecy.
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Research Examples
- Kohn found that lower class parents were more likely to emphasize conformity in their children whereas middle-class parents were more likely to emphasize creativity and self-reliance.
- Ellis et. al. proposed and found that parents value conformity over self-reliance in children to the extent that conformity superseded self-reliance as a criterion for success in their own endeavors.
- Finally, the retirement home community encouraged a culture of life and fulfillment in part to counter-act the frequency of death.
- In other words, tracks can turn into a type of self-fulfilling prophecy: you may start out at the same level as someone in a higher track, but by the time you have completed the lower track you will have become like the other students in your track.