Have you ever experienced making a prediction about something and eventually it becomes true? You might not be a fortune teller, but your prediction seems to be rather quite accurate sometimes. When you prophesied something even without any supporting grounds and yet it is being realised as if it was because you said so or can a prediction manifest purely on itself because it was predicted?
Well, it is an interesting phenomenon, but you might have overlooked the effect your expectations have on your behaviour regards to your prediction. In scientific explanation, when our beliefs and expectations influence our actions and behaviour at the subconscious level, we are enacting what is known as a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The Cycle Of Self-Fulfilling Prophecies
A self-fulfilling prophecy can lead to cycles of thought and behaviour, both positive and negative. A self-fulfilling prophecy can be a self-fulfilling prophecy if you believe that a certain outcome will happen. If you believe in it enough, it will happen. That is because, you are more likely to act in ways that correspond to your beliefs, thus reinforcing your beliefs and encouraging the same behaviour. You might not realise the connection to this cycle of thoughts and behaviours when the results are positive. But when it comes to the negative outcome, it is a “vicious cycle.”
When a person is constantly thinking that he is inadequate to perform, he is actually self-sabotaging himself because he may avoid putting much time and ultimate effort into it or even totally avoid doing it. Therefore, he will experience an outcome that will well match his expectations which only proven his incompetency and deepen his self-doubt and even lower his self-esteem.
Psychology And Mental
Psychologists have conducted clinical trials and gathered strong evidence on the impact of self-fulfilling prophecy. It is convinced that whether or not a prediction is holding an expectation or made aware of, it will manifest if one is chosen to believe in.
A well-known example in psychology is called the “Placebo Effect” which refers to “a substance or other kind of treatment that looks just like a regular treatment or medicine, but is not.” The placebo method was used in participants who did not receive any meaningful treatment and yet claimed to be having the same effect it was told will have. These research findings on the Placebo Effect have proven that belief can be a very powerful tool to change the trajectory of life.
It Shape Communication
Self-fulfilling prophecies can have profound effects on the ways we communicate with one another. When you started out with an internal belief or prediction about someone, absorbing every little bit of evidence that support your ground, you will often behave and act toward them in a way that is consistent with those beliefs and expectations.
For instance, if we are being told the person we are going to meet is a nice and interesting person with a jovial personality. Subconsciously our approach to them will be much friendlier the usual. Vice versa when they sense this hospitality approach to them, they will most likely return the same engagement with us.
This phenomenon is known as the Confirmation Bias which is a form of Self-fulfilling prophecies. An individual may be impregnated with an idea that stereotype certain peoples’ behaviour, thus making him treat these people differently according to their assumption when they met. It can be dangerous, in this way, as a social issue in need of mitigation. This one-sided judgment of an event based on proof to support a preconceived idea is what resembles the self-fulfilling prophecy.
Final Thoughts
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy is a useful and helpful concept in psychology. We can make use of the practice of positive thinking to alter our daily actions and behaviours. As the saying goes “Fake it till you make it” and doing so doesn’t mean that you are losing or being less yourself, it simply means that you are adjusting your behaviour to match your values and increase the chances of a positive outcome. But do take note that a self-fulfilling prophecy does not come with a guarantee, despite what the peddlers of the Law of Attraction would want you to believe.
