Self Fulfilling Prophecy (SFP)

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy (SFP) is a false definition of the situation evoking a behavior which makes the originally false conception comes true. It is the socio-psychological phenomenon of someone "predicting" or expecting something, and this "prediction" or expectation coming true simply because the person believes it will and the person's resulting behaviors align to fulfill the belief. A false reality could actually become truth due to human psychological responses to predictions, fears, and worries associated with the future. 

Example: Suppose there is an expectation that a local real estate market will depreciate. As there is a widespread expectation of depreciation, a significant number of homeowners decide to sell their properties. The substantial increase in the number of property sellers creates excess supply in the market. The oversupply depreciates the real estate market, fulfilling the depreciation expectation

Facts and ideas about SFP

1) An expectation about a subject, such as a person or event, can affect our behavior towards that subject, which causes the expectation to be realized. For example, a high school volleyball coach expects freshmen to be less skilled, so she does not put them in to play very often. When she does put them in, they are rusty and don't do well, thereby fulfilling her expectations

2) New-agers often refer to a self-fulfilling prophecy as the Law of Attraction. Essentially, it is a somewhat mystical or idealized concept that a person gets back what they put out into the universe

3) A self-fulfilling prophecy is any held belief or expectation that leads to behaviors that ultimately prove the belief or expectation true. When used positively, this phenomenon can be a great tool in the business world

4) Without recognizing the self-fulfilling prophecy nature of their actions, traders continue to believe their false assumptions about the market and, therefore, continue to have bad experiences because of their own actions that lead to self-fulfilling prophecies

Types of SFP

(I) Self-imposed prophecy: One’s own expectations are the causal factor for one’s actions. An example is illustrated through a public speaking scenario. In this scenario, a man named John has had previous experience with failure in a public speaking setting. He is extremely nervous and believes he will fail. Due to this, as he begins his speech, he stumbles over his words, forgets his lines, and fails to produce a coherent message. Therefore, because John believed he would fail, he did

(II) Other-imposed self-fulfilling prophecy: It arises when others’ expectations of another individual affects the actions of that individual. A classic example is the fortune teller scenario. Cindy, a fortune teller tells a man named Peter that he will one day become a therapist. Because Cindy imposed this expectation on Peter, he began to believe it. Eventually, because Cindy’s expectations affected Peter’s beliefs, he did one day become a therapist. The Oedipus example above is another example of another-imposed self-fulling prophecy. Other-imposed self-fulfilling prophecies are at the root of racial and gender stereotyping and discrimination. If a person has certain expectations for a person of another race, they will treat them accordingly which might position this person in a place fitting of the stereotype they’re believed to fit under