Self-fulfilling prophecy

Everyone knows the phenomenon of seeing something happen that they expected. Having a bad feeling about something can inevitably lead to it happening. This scientifically explainable phenomenon often falls under the expression of oneself self-fulfilling prophecy.

What is Self-fulfilling Prophecy?

With this in English as self-fulfilling prophecy Everyday phenomenon referred to is a phenomenon that can be found in sociology and psychology. The expected behavior of another person becomes reality through one's own behavior. A certain type of action and interaction that is feared or expected by the person concerned is triggered by these fears.

In doing so, for example, he significantly influences the behavior of another person through the signals that he sends out himself. The opposite of self-fulfilling prophecy is the self-destroying prophecy or self-defeating prophecy. In this case the prophecy, i.e. the behavior of the other person, does not occur precisely because the person behaves accordingly.

The effects of actions and established attitudes were already mentioned at the beginning of the twentieth century by Otto Neurath, an economic theorist and popular educator, under the term self-fulfilling prophecy.

causes

The reason for the functioning of self-fulfilling prophecies is the expectations that humans place on certain people or situations. Man can be influenced. So if he hears something negative from one person about another, he will behave differently towards this person than if he had met her without this knowledge.

Depending on how strongly your own behavior is influenced by other people's experience, the more people will notice it. Conversely, those who find themselves rather unsympathetic will react accordingly. In this way, the prophecy made by the other person appears to reach its true core. In other words, people tend to be more reserved towards people who approach them with a certain degree of suspicion.

This leads to the usual everyday statements that include a fulfilled premonition. The reason for this is the lack of knowledge about one's own behavior. As a rule, those affected do not notice their own indebtedness for what has happened and are not taken as such.

Symptoms, ailments & signs

Even if the person is unable to assess their behavior themselves, it can still be noticeable to others. A self-fulfilling prophecy is to be judged as such especially for an outsider. The deviation of one's own behavior from the norm or the usual standard is typical. This can often be assessed much more easily by other people than by the person concerned.

Psychological processes such as thinking, feeling, perceiving and behavior play together and not only influence the image of the other or a situation, but also the self-assessment. Various examples illustrate the effects of a self-fulfilling prophecy. For example, rumors spread in a targeted manner, disguised as predictions, can develop their own dynamic and can be used in so many different ways.

It looks similar with exams. For example, if a student tells himself or herself that he has failed before the exam, this can lead to actual failure in the exam situation. The reason is often less the lack of ability than the expectations and fears that lead to an increased stress level.

A very typical example is the fear of a high pulse or blood pressure before a doctor's visit. The assumed tension very often leads to the fulfillment of the expectation, even if the blood pressure is normally in the normal range. Therefore, doctors often do not take slight deviations too seriously. There are a number of other examples that fall into this area.

Diagnosis & course of disease

It is seldom easy for those affected to relate their expectations and what has happened. It is necessary to recapitulate the situation in order to understand what the reason for being true to one's assumption is. Others can also help to assess the whole thing from the outside. In this way, a recurrence can be weakened.

Complications

It is doubtful whether a self-fulfilling prophecy can lead to complications. Rather, the self-fulfilling prophecy, by its very nature, plays a role in many complications. This applies in particular to patients in hospital and their recovery processes.

So the negative expectation of treatment or recovery will also have a negative impact. This is justified by the fact that an expectation unconsciously influences the vegetative activities of the body - and leads, for example, to symptoms of anxiety (racing heart, sweating, restlessness). These things can make treatment difficult.

Since the inclination towards corresponding trains of thought can hardly be influenced, it is common for some people to look more negatively at the events that are about to happen around them and others more positively. Accordingly, one can only work towards a self-fulfilling prophecy being positively formulated so that the corresponding placebo effects and unconscious actions of the corresponding person can occur.

The belief in the predestination of a fate also plays a role here. Overall, it has been shown that self-fulfilling prophecies in the form of fears (of falls, accidents) lead to more such events in those affected. This can generally be referred to as a negative consequence - or a complication - in this context.

When should you go to the doctor?

Whether someone needs to consult a doctor about a self-fulfilling prophecy is questionable. An example would be if someone had a fear of getting cancer for years and then actually discovered signs of the disease.

Of course, anyone who detects signs of cancer needs to see a doctor quickly. The problem with self-fulfilling prophecy, however, is that the person is actually waiting for them to discover such signs. There is a risk of misinterpretation. A proximity to the hypochondria cannot be completely ruled out.

In and of themselves, self-fulfilling prophecies have no disease value. Most people have to deal with such phenomena several times in their life without having to see a doctor. We encounter self-fulfilling prophecies in the form of placebos. We attribute effects to these even though they contain no active ingredients. Homeopathy or Bach flowers are also assumed to be nothing but a placebo with no active ingredient content.

Likewise, the nocebo effect can be an opposite self-fulfilling prophecy. Some patients believe that a drug is harming them and actually experience side effects. It is known that old people actually fall more often if they are afraid of it. But a self-fulfilling prophecy is only good for a visit to the doctor if it has resulted in a consequence that requires treatment. It itself does not require one.

Therapy & Treatment

Despite knowing it, it can be difficult to prevent a self-fulfilling prophecy and actively work against it. This requires complete control of your own body and a lot of willpower. Anyone who has ever tried to suppress physical reactions or feelings knows how difficult it can be.

Therefore, simply becoming aware of your own conduct is not always enough to oppose such a prophecy. However, in some cases, conscious training can help to keep your own body under control and to trick any thoughts. It is also important to get a picture of a person or situation for yourself instead of taking the picture of others for granted.

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prevention

This can prevent undesirable effects in various situations. However, self-fulfilling prophecies also work the other way round - in a positive sense. Therefore there is also the possibility to adapt positively to situations. A generally positive attitude can help to influence people around you in a sympathetic way and to control feelings accordingly. This also makes it easier to approach exam situations or to prevent the shock the next time you visit the doctor.

Aftercare

Self-fulfilling prophecy is often closely related to the patient's belief or superstition. Fears are often associated with this syndrome. So it is important that the risk of a relapse is kept as low as possible through consistent follow-up care after the therapy. Follow-up care for the self-fulfilling prophecy can be discussed with the psychologist. Active cooperation of the patient is necessary in all cases.

First of all, it is important to keep discovering situations in which a prophecy of the patient has not come true. In this way, the belief that thinking about a bad outcome can really bring about it is gradually reduced. Ideally, this continually reduces and stabilizes the patient's fears. In aftercare, for example, the patient can keep a list which, after a while, clearly demonstrates to him that prophecies have no significant connection with reality.

People who are confronted with the self-fulfilling prophecy as a psychological problem often have inner restlessness and tension even after therapy. Relaxation methods can be an effective tool here. In courses, for example, progressive muscle relaxation, autogenic training or yoga can be learned. Afterwards, the learned exercises can simply be continued at home as part of the aftercare if necessary.

You can do that yourself

Self-fulfilling prophecy is closely related to negative thoughts in the person concerned. Therefore, self-help is not only possible, but an important factor in the process of recovery. The first step in the right direction can be, for example, to keep in mind how many events in life have a positive outcome and that they are clearly in the majority. Conversations with family or friends can also help to cope with a negative mood bit by bit. Lists in which positive and negative experiences are juxtaposed show that negative thinking rarely actually has a real basis.

In severe cases, going to a psychologist is helpful. But psychotherapeutic treatment is also linked to self-help, as it requires insight and cooperation from the person concerned in order to successfully treat the self-fulfilling prophecy as a negative basic attitude. This means that in the sessions with the psychologist not only the causes of this thinking, but also concrete instructions for action are discussed as exercises, which are then implemented at home in everyday life. A self-help group can also be helpful, as the exchange with like-minded people helps those affected by the understanding they have shown, as does specific tips that experienced participants can often give the group.