Self Fulfilling Prophecy

"A self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true, by the very terms of the prophecy itself, due to positive feedback between belief and behavior."[1]
This means that if you believe that something will happen, it probably will. For example, if a teacher tells a student they are going to fail at their classes, the fear that it brings will make the prophecy more likely to happen. This was credited by sociologist Robert K Merton in his book Sociological Theory and Social Structure.

## Discussion questions and essay ideas

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* How can self fulfilling prophecies be potentially harmful?
* How can self fulfilling prophecies be potentially beneficial?
* What are some examples of self fulfilling prophecies?

## Learning resources

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### External

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* Lesson 8: Breaking The Negative Self Fulfilling Prophecy
* Self-Fulfilling Prophecies in Organizations
* Self-Fulfilling Prophecies and Power in Negotiation
* What is a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy in Negotiation?
* Self-fulfilling Prophecy – Role of Media

## Navigation

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1. ↑ "Self-fulfilling prophecy". Wikipedia. 2022-02-28. https://en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikiversity.org/w/index.php?title=Self-fulfilling_prophecy&oldid=1074536766.