Appetite From Hell

Originally written for a social psychology paper on the self-fulfilling prophecy in Spring of 2022

Disclaimer: Manifestation referred to here relates to things that could clearly be seen as influenced by social factors.

The idea of self-fulfilling prophecy is one that resonates in many aspects of our lives, from day-to-day interactions to how we interact with our institutions. We shape our own reality with this concept, using the subconscious power of our mind and the behaviors that follow! Manifestation has become a recent topic in spiritual communities, motivational speaking, and life coaching industries. Nowadays, one may stumble upon a social media post written by an astrologer, advising them to “manifest positivity and fortune” into their life by taking time to consciously think about the things desired. What they may not realize is that Merton’s idea of self-fulfilling prophecy would better explain this phenomenon.

Robert King Merton was an American sociologist and professor, primarily concerned with sociological theory, structural-functionalist approach, and mass communication. Originally named Meyer Robert Schkolnick, he was born on July 4, 1910, and died February 23, 2003. His work at Columbia University, in conjunction with Paul Lazarsfeld, helped shape how the social sciences are trained today by blending well-defined theory with quantitative and qualitative research. Merton was known for several important sociological studies and theories, including the concepts of manifest and latent function, his studies on deviant behavior and social adaptation, the rise of focus groups being used in studies, and the self-fulfilling prophecy (Encyclopædia Britannica, 1998). Little did he know that this concept would help explain many social issues in the future, from education gaps to racial bias.

The self-fulfilling prophecy can be defined as the “process through which an originally false expectation leads to its own confirmation” and can be observed in large-scale social influences or small-scale one-on-one interactions (Jussim, 2016). A social psychologist may look at the self-fulfilling prophecy more specifically as “an expectation of one’s own or another person’s behavior that comes true because of the tendency of the person holding it to act in ways that could bring it about” (Aronson, 2019). More simply broken down, when we give a subject an expectation or more attention, our brains subconsciously prepare us for how to best act to ensure optimal results in line with the expectation itself. For example, if somebody is going to a party where they are expecting to feel socially awkward, they may feel awkward walking into the situation, creating situations that reinforces this feeling, in turn creating a negative experience, further reinforcing the prophecy of awkward interactions at parties. Whether our interpretation of a person or situation is right or wrong, the set expectation evokes new behavior(s), making those potentially false conceptions a reality (Zulaika, 2007).

An example of the self-fulfilling prophecy on a larger scale can be observed during the Great Depression. When insolvency rumors were rampant for banks, clients withdrew all their money as soon as they could. Because of the level of panic, and sheer number of clients involved, the banks eventually ran out of money, causing the supposed insolvency to become a reality. If bank clients had slowed down and not withdrawn their money as such, could the Great Depression have been a Lesser Depression instead? Another example of self-fulfilling prophecy on a smaller scale is observing how physical attractiveness and racial stereotypes affect our interactions. Past studies have demonstrated the difference in interview outcomes based on how we treat people of different races. In these studies, white interviewers would treat white interviewees in the same manner they treated African American interviewees and saw the white interviewee results greatly suffer with the poor treatment they normally wouldn’t be given. Another study observed how a man interviewing a woman who is perceived as attractive led to him being warm and friendly during the interaction, leading to her warm and friendly reactions, resulting in an overall better interview (Jussim, 2016).

A more positive example of the self-fulfilling prophecy can be seen in a famous study by Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson. In this experiment, a test was administered to elementary students, and the teachers were told that certain students were going to “bloom” academically compared to their peers. The students were randomly selected and given the same material as their classmates, with the only difference being the mindset of the teacher when interacting with each student. At the end of the year, an IQ test was given, and the “bloomer” students scored significantly higher than their classmates (Aronson, 2019). The expectations placed on those students had become a reality. Another example of a positive expectation becoming reality can be seen in studies observing seasickness and Naval cadets. One study observes cadets over the course of a five-day training cruise. The first group of cadets were told they were unlikely to experience seasickness and if they did that their performance would not be affected. The other group of cadets was observed training as they normally would. The group with the “verbal placebo” of non-seasickness reported less seasickness and outperformed their counterparts, further validating the self-fulfilled prophecy (Eden & Zuk, 1995).

Merton’s creation of the self-fulfilling prophecy concept has led us to greater understanding of how people interact with each other, and how we interact with our society. Small and large-scale interactions demonstrating this concept have been observed historically in how we handle financial crises, political unrest, and even emergencies during times of war. Many have studied adverse effects of the self-fulfilling prophecy; however, the concept can be incredibly positive if desired! If one wakes up thinking they will have a good day, they may take actions without realizing it to ensure having a better day. The next time manifestation is explained in a metaphysical manner, we can also explain how the self-fulfilling prophecy works, and see which of the two better fits the scenario.

References

Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., & Sommers, S. (2019). Social Psychology 10th edition. Pearson Education.

Eden, D., & Zuk, Y. (1995). Seasickness as a self-fulfilling prophecy: raising self-efficacy to boost performance at sea. Journal of Applied Psychology, 80(5), 628–635. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.80.5.628

Harrison, J.L. (2019). Making an impact: Concepts for creating social change. Retrieved from TopHat.com.

Jussim, L. (2016). Self-fulfilling prophecy. In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2022, from https://academic-eb-com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/levels/collegiate/article/self-fulfilling-prophecy/627528.

Encyclopædia Britannica. (1998). Robert K. Merton. Britannica Academic. Retrieved 2022, from https://academic-eb-com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/levels/collegiate/article/Robert-K-Merton/52186

Zulaika, J. (2007). The blackwell encyclopedia of sociology. Blackwell Publishing. Retrieved 2022, from https://doi-org.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/10.1002/9781405165518.wbeoss074.pub2.