Self-Fulfilling Prophecies and Their Effects on Communication

Introduction: The Power of Expectation

Does the full moon really affect one's behavior? Does Friday the 13th really deserve extra caution? Is a Harvard professor wiser than, say, an Appalachian hermit? Or is someone who abandons a life of wealth and fame suffering from mental illness? Is one race or gender more adept at a particular profession than another?

There is no scientific evidence that proves the full moon has any effect on a person's personality or behavior, yet those in law enforcement and the medical profession often say that crime, accidents, and psychotic behavior increase during a full moon. Moreover, many people report feeling more anxious or nervous during that time. Henry David Thoreau lived in the woods for several years, St. Francis of Assisi abandoned his wealth and military position for a life of poverty, and many people actually regard Friday the 13th as a lucky day.

Self-fulfilling prophecies are as old as communication itself. Myths and lore have been passed down throughout history to justify and explain human behavior or environmental events. Moreover, self-fulfilling prophecies laced with bias and prejudice have historically formed and shaped cultures and societies.

Defining Self-Fulfilling Prophecies

For good or ill, humans respond to external expectations. If a person is told daily that he is ugly, more than likely that person is going to feel ugly, no matter how physically attractive he may be. What if someone is introduced as a genius — might others heed his words as wisdom? And if the same person is introduced as a lunatic, isn't it likely his words will be seen as mere gibberish?

There is no doubt that self-fulfilling prophecies affect communication and self-esteem, but what exactly are self-fulfilling prophecies, and what are their negative and positive effects?

A self-fulfilling prophecy is "a prophecy about a future event that serves to increase the probability of the event's occurrence" (Hurley 1997). "One's beliefs about other people determine how one acts toward them, and thus play a role in determining the behavior that results" (Self-fulfilling 2001). The first to recognize and analyze self-fulfilling prophecies as a societal phenomenon was sociologist R.K. Merton in 1948. Psychologists subsequently began looking at "self-fulfilling prophecies in terms of interaction effects or interpersonal expectancy effects" (Hurley 1997).

In the 1960s, Rosenthal and Jacobson researched self-fulfilling prophecies in the classroom, discovering that teachers' expectations of certain students could influence student performance (Hurley 1997). In one of the best-known studies, "teachers were told (falsely) that certain students in their class were 'bloomers' on the verge of dramatic intellectual development" (Self-fulfilling 2001). Eight months later, when the students were tested, those labeled as bloomers outperformed their classmates, thus fulfilling the prediction made about them. The teachers had behaved toward those particular students in ways that encouraged and facilitated their intellectual development — setting higher goals for them and giving them extra attention and support (Self-fulfilling 2001).

Another experiment included a group of men who conversed by telephone with a group of women after seeing what they were told were pictures of their prospective partners. The women who were supposed to be attractive were considered by the men to be more interesting and intelligent. The men's own behavior had been more genial toward the women they thought were attractive, thus drawing "livelier responses" than from the men who believed their partners were unattractive (Self-fulfilling 2001).

Two Types of Self-Fulfilling Prophecies

Stereotyping — whether racial, ethnic, or gender-based — can lead to self-fulfilling prophecies if members of a group are discouraged from ambitious goal-setting due to others' low expectations of them. Self-fulfilling prophecies can also affect a person's own behavior based on his own beliefs about himself: someone who believes he will succeed at a particular task will generally be more successful than someone who believes he will fail (Self-fulfilling 2001). "Because of the potential harm to participants, researchers of self-fulfilling prophecies do not usually study negative prophecies" (Hurley 1997).

There are two types of self-fulfilling prophecies. The first is the Pygmalion effect. "The Pygmalion effect occurs when one person has expectations of another and behaves toward that person in a manner consistent with those expectations" (Hurley 1997). Thus, the prophet's own behavioral change influences a corresponding change in the other person's behavior.

"The other type of self-fulfilling prophecy occurs when a prophecy is made and people autonomously change their behavior to agree with the prophecy" (Hurley 1997). To illustrate this type, Merton used the example of a bank failure: if depositors believe a bank is in trouble, they withdraw their money and cause the bank to collapse. There is no interpersonal influence required in this scenario — the behavior of a single prophet did not affect the depositors; they acted independently. "Research has shown that self-fulfilling prophecies exist regardless of whether the prophecies have a factual basis or are deliberately falsified" (Hurley 1997).

As Mark Snyder observed, "the combination of interaction rules, the personalities of the people who are interacting, and the settings and purpose of their interactions affects not only each person's perception of the other and of self, but also the outcomes of the interaction, including the likelihood of future interactions. Given the importance of these outcomes, people have learned to make use of cues that may signal the likely course of interaction. Among these cues are the expectations with which people begin their interactions with others — expectations about what will be required of them and expectations about how their interaction partners will act. Indeed, these preconceived expectations, and those formed immediately on beginning interaction, can channel our thought and behavior toward others before they have a chance to provide any behavioral basis for our impressions" (Snyder 1999).

Conclusion: Beliefs, Behavior, and Communication

A self-fulfilling prophecy can have both negative and positive effects, no matter the intention. Even if a prophet may think his intention is positive — say, an employer's extra attention to a low-performing employee — the effect may likely be negative. However, a teacher who nurtures a particular student will often see positive results. Factors rooted in individual and cultural beliefs determine how people respond to one another.