Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

• Negative beliefs predict negative behavior (or problems in life).
• Surprisingly, the psychological explanation of a self-fulfilling prophecy is not that positive beliefs predict positive events.
• "A false definition of a situation evoking a new behavior which makes the original false conception come true."
• What you believe will come true because you will subconsciously and consciously act in ways that cause the event to happen. Self-fulfilling prophecies are powerful, and real.

How Self-Fulfilling Prophecies Work in Psychology

If you think a negative thought (e.g., your husband will cheat on you), then you may predict or even create a problem (e.g., he is unfaithful). There are several possible reasons for this self-fulfilling prophecy. It's possible that you knew going into the marriage that he's been unfaithful in the past. Maybe he left his last relationship to be with you. Or perhaps it's not about him – maybe it's about your lack of trust or fear of intimacy.

Whatever the reason for your negative belief, your actions may set him up to cheat. More specifically, you may treat him with distrust and suspicion...and he'll be more likely to live up to your negative thoughts and expectations. If you refuse to believe him when he tells you the truth, he'll see no reason to stay honest. Your expectations shape your future.

Whether he cheats or not, it's not your fault. A self-fulfilling prophecy is simply a cause-and-effect scenario.

The Group Effect of Self-Fulfilling Prophecies

Snergistic Accumulative Effect

Two or more people's expectations are more powerful than one person's.

Group expectations predict events more accurately than individual expectations. Self-fulfilling prophecies in families are particularly common.

For instance, if your whole family expects Junior to break the law or develop a drinking problem by the time he hits age seven, then he could very well live up to those negative thoughts and expectations. This is the group effect of self-fulfilling prophecies.

The combined effect of self-fulfilling prophecies is especially significant when applied to society's beliefs about minorities or stereotyped groups. For instance, if we as a community believe that fast food is good, then our beliefs could affect our health as a society. If we believe we're raising a generation of video-game addicted spoiled children, then that's what we'll get.