Self-fulfilling prophecy
[7] An early precursor of the concept appears in Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire: "During many ages, the prediction, as it is usual, contributed to its own accomplishment".
The phrase "self-fulfilling prophecy" was coined by Robert K. Merton, a sociologist who also developed the ideas of anomie, social structure, and the modes of individual adaption.
I had called this the "Oedipus effect", because the oracle played a most important role in the sequence of events which led to the fulfilment of its prophecy.
[13][14] In the United States, the concept was broadly and consistently applied in the field of public education reform, following the "War on Poverty", as teacher expectations have been shown to influence student academic performance.
[15][16]: 114 [17] Theodore Brameld noted: "In simplest terms, education already projects and thereby reinforces whatever habits of personal and cultural life are considered to be acceptable and dominant.
[19] Though the changes may be subconscious, teachers who have higher expectations typically give "more time to answer questions, more specific feedback, and more approval".
[16]: 115 Academic self-fulfilling prophecies can be negative, however: one study indicated that female students may perform worse if they expect their male instructor to be sexist.
[23] Americans of Chinese and Japanese origin are more likely to die of a heart attack on the 4th of each month, due to the number four being considered unlucky and a portent of death.
[24][25] Moore's law predicting that the number of transistors in an integrated circuit (IC) doubles about every two years is often considered as a self-fulfilling prophecy.
[citation needed] Similarly, stock-exchange panics and speculative bubbles can be both triggered by a widespread belief that the stock will go down (or up), thus starting the selling/buying mass move, etc.
The study found that women were more likely to experience rejection sensitivity in comparison to the negativity held by men about the future of their relationships, and that women sensitive to rejection "may be more likely to behave in ways that exacerbate conflicts," which could lead to behavior that would "erode their partners' relationship satisfaction and commitment.
[30][31][32] The invasion and subsequent overthrowing of the regime resulted in Iraq becoming a stronghold for the terrorist organization Al Qaeda, thus fulfilling the initial belief of a potential threat.
[citation needed] Self-fulfilling prophecies are one of the main contributions to racial prejudice and vice versa.
[citation needed][clarification needed] According to the Dictionary of Race, Ethnicity & Culture, "Self-fulfilling prophecy makes it possible to highlight the tragic vicious circle which victimizes people twice: first, because the victim is stigmatized with an inherent negative quality; and secondly, because he or she is prevented from disproving this quality.
[citation needed] Clark, whose work pushed the Supreme Court to desegregate schools, noted the influence of teachers on the achievement levels between Black and White students.
This prompted Clark to begin a study in ten inner-city schools where he assessed the attitudes and behaviors of teachers.
[citation needed] They are often used for dramatic irony, with the prophesied events coming to pass due to the attempts to prevent the prophecy.
Many myths, legends, and fairy-tales make use of this motif as a central element of narratives that are designed to illustrate inexorable fate, fundamental to the Hellenic world-view.
Greek historiography provides a famous variant: when the Lydian king Croesus asked the Delphic Oracle if he should invade Persia, the response came that if he did, he would destroy a great kingdom.
[38] When it was predicted that Cronos would be overthrown by his son, and usurp his throne as King of the Gods, Cronus ate his children, each shortly after they were born, enraging his wife, Rhea.
Cronos' attempt to avoid the prophecy made Zeus his enemy, ultimately leading to its fulfilment.
The man travels there and experiences misfortune after losing belief in the prophecy, ending up in jail, where he tells his dream to a police officer.
[39] Another variation of the self-fulfilling prophecy can be seen in "The Tale of Attaf", where Harun al-Rashid consults his library (the House of Wisdom), reads a random book, "falls to laughing and weeping and dismisses the faithful vizier" Ja'far ibn Yahya from sight.
After returning to Baghdad, Ja'far reads the same book that caused Harun to laugh and weep, and discovers that it describes his own adventures with Attaf.
In the story of Krishna in the Indian epic Mahabharata, the ruler of the Mathura kingdom, Kamsa, afraid of a prophecy that predicted his death at the hands of his sister Devaki's son, had her cast into prison where he planned to kill all of her children at birth.
Many fairy-tales, such as The Devil With the Three Golden Hairs, The Fish and the Ring, The Story of Three Wonderful Beggars, or The King Who Would Be Stronger Than Fate, feature a prophecy that a poor boy will marry a rich girl (or, less frequently, a poor girl will marry a rich boy).
In some variants of Sleeping Beauty, such as Sun, Moon, and Talia, the sleep is not brought about by a curse, but a prophecy that she will be endangered by flax (or hemp) results in the royal order to remove all the flax or hemp from the castle, resulting in her ignorance of the danger and her curiosity.
The thoughts, words and actions held in mind affect someone's intentions which makes the expected result happen.
Although there are some cases where positive or negative attitudes can produce corresponding results (principally the placebo and nocebo effects), there is no scientific basis to the law of attraction.
[50] The movie 12 Monkeys heavily deals with themes of predestination and the Cassandra complex, where the protagonist who travels back in time explains that he cannot change the past.
