Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Sociologist Robert Merton coined the term self-fulfilling prophecy in 1949 in Social Theory and Social Structure as “a false definition of the situation evoking a new behavior which makes the original false conception come true.” In other words, a person's expectations about a situation eventually lead that person to behave in ways that confirm the expectations. Merton illustrated his concept with the example of the fictional bank of Cartwright Millingville. Although the bank is financially secure, its assets are invested in numerous enterprises. When a large number of depositors all show up at once wanting their money, a rumor spreads that the bank is in trouble. Within hours, so many panicked depositors withdraw their savings that the bank, unable to meet the sudden demand of all its customers, becomes insolvent and declares bankruptcy. Thus, the original false rumor leads to behavior that fulfills the prediction.

[Page 830]Psychologists Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson further reinforced Merton's idea with the publication of Pygmalion in the Classroom in 1968. Their experiment showed that when teachers are influenced to have higher expectations for previously non-high achieving students, those expectations and the teachers' subsequent behavior improve the academic performance of those students.

Self-fulfilling prophecies occur in a cyclical process. To begin, an observer internalizes a stereotype about a group. This stereotyped belief leads the observer to act accordingly toward that group. The subject group, upon receiving such differentiated treatment (either positive or negative), will often react accordingly to reinforce that expected stereotype, thus “proving” that stereotype and reinforcing it. This justification serves to encourage the differential treatment toward other group members as the cycle continues and the stereotype, prejudice, and discrimination remain constant.

Self-fulfilling prophecies can easily affect schoolchildren. If a schoolteacher internalizes stereotypes that whites are above average, Asians are the brightest, and other minority and immigrant children are below average, those beliefs will most likely shape how the teacher treats those students. Often, due to the internalization of such stereotypes, teachers will act in a prejudicial manner toward students without realizing what they are doing, since motivation for such actions comes from the subconscious level.

The result of self-fulfilling prophecies has been the unequal treatment of ethnic, racial, religious, and gender minority students throughout history. Groups stereotyped as below average students typically do not receive the same amount of positive interaction with their teachers as students believed to be above average. The effects of the self-fulfilling prophecy in the classroom often carry into students' adulthood as they enter the workforce and face similar stereotypes and prejudices. The cycle continues, often contributing to the level of their productivity and success.

Self-fulfilling prophecies affect more than a person's academic experience and career. Stereotypes regarding which groups are “more prone to break the law,” “better athletes,” and “more competent leaders” can affect which groups do become more criminal (or interrogated and/or arrested based on suspicion because of their group membership), good athletes (because of extra encouragement to develop their “inherent skills”), or elected officials (because of the perceived characteristics of their group).

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