Everyone knows the phenomenon of seeing something occur that they expected. Having a bad feeling about something, however, can inevitably lead to its very occurrence. This phenomenon, which can be explained scientifically, often falls under the expression of self-fulfilling prophecy.
What is self-fulfilling prophecy?
This everyday phenomenon, known in English as self-fulfilling prophecy, is a phenomenon that is located in sociology and psychology. Here, the expected behavior of another person becomes reality through one’s own behavior. A certain type of action and interaction, which is feared or expected by the person concerned, is thereby triggered by him through precisely these fears. In this process, for example, he significantly influences the behavior of another person through the signals he himself sends out. The opposite of self-fulfilling prophecy is 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 consolidated attitudes were mentioned as early as the beginning of the twentieth century by Otto Neurath, an economic theorist and popular educator, under the term self-fulfilling prophecy.
Causes
The cause of the functioning of self-fulfilling prophecies is the expectation that man places on certain people or situations. Man is impressionable. Thus, if he hears something negative about another person from one person, he will behave differently towards this person than if he had met him without this knowledge. Depending on how strongly one’s own behavior is influenced by the experience of others, the more strongly it will be noticed by other people. Conversely, those who find themselves perceived as rather unsympathetic will in turn react accordingly. Thus the prophecy previously made by the other person appears to acquire its true core. Differently spoken: People usually behave more reservedly towards persons who approach them with a certain degree of distrust. This leads to the usual everyday statements, which contain a fulfilled premonition. The reason for this is the lack of knowledge about one’s own behavior. As a rule, the persons concerned do not notice their own indebtedness to what has happened and are not perceived as such.
Symptoms, complaints and signs
Even if the person is unable to self-assess his or her behavior, it may be noticeable to others. Thus, a self-fulfilling prophecy can be judged as such, especially by outsiders. Typical is the deviation of one’s own behavior from the norm or the usual standard. This can often be assessed much more easily by other people than by the affected person himself. Psychological processes such as thinking, feeling, perceiving and behaving interplay here and influence not only the image of the other person or a situation, but also the self-assessment. Various examples illustrate the effects of a self-fulfilling prophecy. For example, deliberately spread rumors disguised as predictions can develop their own dynamics and thus be used in different ways. The situation is similar with exams. If, for example, a student or pupil tells himself that he will fail before the exam, this can lead to actual failure in the exam situation. The reason for this is often not so much the lack of ability, but rather the expectation and fear, which leads to an increased stress level. A very typical example is also the fear of an increased pulse or blood pressure before a doctor’s visit. The assumed tension very often leads to the expectation coming true, even if the blood pressure is normally in the normal range. Therefore, doctors often do not take slight deviations too seriously. Thus, there are quite a few other examples, which fall into this range.
Diagnosis and course of the disease
It is seldom easy for the affected person to relate what he or she expects to happen and what has happened. Recapitulation of the situation is necessary to understand what caused one’s suspicions to come true. Others can also help assess it from the outside. In this way, a recurrence can be mitigated.
Complications
It may be doubted whether a self-fulfilling prophecy can involve complications. Rather, the self-fulfilling prophecy, by its nature, plays a role in many complications. This is especially true for hospitalized patients and their recovery trajectories. Thus, the negative expectation of treatment or recovery will also negatively influence this. This is already justified by the fact that an attitude of expectation unconsciously influences the vegetative activities of the body – and leads, for example, to anxiety symptoms (palpitations, sweating, restlessness). These things can complicate treatment. Since it is almost impossible to influence the transmission of the tendency to corresponding thought processes, it is usual that some people look more negatively at the events happening around them and others more positively. Accordingly, the only thing that can be done is to formulate a self-fulfilling prophecy in a positive way so that the corresponding placebo effects and unconscious action of the corresponding person can occur. Here, the belief in the predetermination of a destiny also plays a role. Overall, it has been shown that especially self-fulfilling prophecies in the form of fears (of falls, accidents) lead to just more of such events in the affected persons. This can generally be called a negative consequence – or complication – in this context.
When should one go to the doctor?
Whether someone needs to consult a doctor about a self-fulfilling prophecy is debatable. An example would be if someone suffers from the fear of getting cancer for years and then actually discovers signs of such a disease. Of course, someone who discovers signs of cancer needs to see a doctor quickly. However, the problem with the self-fulfilling prophecy is that the sufferer is just waiting for such signs to be discovered. There is a danger of misinterpretation. A proximity to hypochondria cannot be completely excluded. In itself, self-fulfilling prophecies have no disease value. Most people have to deal with such phenomena several times in their lives without having to see a doctor. We encounter self-fulfilling prophecies in the form of placebos. We attribute effects to these, although they do not contain any active substances. Even homeopathy or Bach flowers are said to be nothing but a placebo without active ingredients. Likewise, the nocebo effect can be a self-fulfilling prophecy to the contrary. Some patients believe that a drug will harm them and actually experience side effects. It is well known that elderly people actually fall more often when they are afraid of doing so. But a self-fulfilling prophecy is not good for a doctor’s visit until it has caused a consequence that requires treatment. It does not itself require one.
Treatment and therapy
Despite the knowledge, 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 this can be. Therefore, simply becoming aware of one’s own behavior is not always enough to combat such a prophecy. However, in some cases conscious training can help to keep one’s own body appropriately under control and to trick any thoughts. Thus, it is also true to form one’s own image of a person or situation instead of taking the image of others as a given.
Prevention
This can be used to prevent an undesirable effect in various situations. However, self-fulfilling prophecies also work the other way around – in a positive sense. Therefore, there is equally the possibility to adjust positively to situations. A generally positive attitude can help to influence people around you in a sympathetic way and to control your feelings accordingly. Thus, it is also easier to approach exam situations or prevent the shock at the next visit to the doctor.
Aftercare
Self-fulfilling prophecy is often closely associated with beliefs or superstitions of the patient. Fears are often associated with this syndrome. Thus, it is important that after therapy, the risk of relapse is kept as low as possible through consistent aftercare.Follow-up of self-fulfilling prophecy can be arranged with the psychologist. Active cooperation of the patient is necessary in all cases. First of all, it is important to repeatedly discover situations in which a prophecy of the patient was not fulfilled. This gradually reduces the belief that thinking about a bad outcome can actually bring it about. Ideally, this continuously reduces anxiety in the patient and stabilizes him or her. In the follow-up, the patient can, for example, keep a list that vividly demonstrates to him after some time that prophecies have no significant connection with reality. People who are confronted with self-fulfilling prophecy as a psychological problem not infrequently still have inner restlessness and tension even after therapy. Here, relaxation methods can be an effective remedy. 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 needed during aftercare.
Here’s what you can do yourself
Self-fulfilling prophecy is closely associated with negative thoughts in the person concerned. Therefore, self-help is not only possible, but even an important factor when it comes to the process of recovery. The first step in the right direction here can be, for example, to keep in mind how many events in life have a positive outcome and that these are clearly in the majority. Conversations with family or friends can also help to overcome a negative mood bit by bit. Lists contrasting positive and negative experiences show that negative thinking only rarely has a real basis in fact. In severe cases, going to a psychologist is helpful. But psychotherapeutic treatment is also linked to self-help, since it requires insight and cooperation on the part of 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 are discussed, but also concrete instructions for action 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 receive, as do concrete tips that experienced participants in the group can often give.
