What is a self-fulfilling prophecy example

Self-fulfilling prophecy is defined as any expectation, positive or negative, about a situation or event that affects an individual behavior in such a manner that it causes that expectation to be fulfilled.

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Examples of Self-Fulfilling Prophecy in Literature
Example #1: Oedipus Rex (By Sophocles)
Example #2: The Ruined Man Who Became Rich Again Through a Dream, from Arabian Nights (By Muhsin Mahdi)
Example #3: Macbeth (By William Shakespeare)
Function of Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Let us assume a teacher, who expects a student to be slothful, is likely to treat that student in such a way that it draws out the very same response he or she expects. Similarly, if we start a day and think “I’ll have a bad day today,” such thinking may alter our actions, and the prediction might be fulfilled by those actions. The term “self-fulfilling prophecy” was coined by Robert Merton in 1948. He described it as:

“A false definition of the situation evoking a new behavior which makes the originally false conception come true”

Individuals react to a situation the way they perceive it, and so their reaction is governed by their perception of that particular situation. No matter what the situation means in reality, their reaction toward the situation causes it to be fulfilled in accordance with their perception.

Examples of Self-Fulfilling Prophecy in Literature

Self-fulfilling prophecy is used as a plot device in literature. It is usually employed ironically, where the prophecies are realized due to the actions of a character who tries to prevent them. One can find examples of self-fulfilling prophecy in popular literary pieces, such as the following:

Example #1: Oedipus Rex (By Sophocles)

One of the best self-fulfilling prophecy examples is in the Greek drama Oedipus Rex. Laius, Oedipus’ father, abandoned his son to die after learning the prophecy from the Oracle of Delphi, that he would kill him one day and marry his mother. He did not die as he was raised by the king and queen of Corinth.

When he grew up, he came to know of the same prophecy from the same source. Not knowing that the king and the queen of Corinth were not his real parents, he traveled toward Thebes”, the city of his biological parents, in order to avert the prophecy. Ironically, the prophecy fulfilled itself as he killed his father, defeated the Sphinx, became the king of Thebes, and married his mother.

Example #2: The Ruined Man Who Became Rich Again Through a Dream, from Arabian Nights (By Muhsin Mahdi)

Self-fulfilling prophecy may take the form of a self-fulfilling dream, as in the famous work of Arabic literature Arabian Nights. For example, in one of its stories, The Ruined Man Who Became Rich Again Through a Dream, a man is told in a dream to leave his native city Baghdad and travel to Cairo, where he will discover a hidden treasure in a certain place.

The man does so, but soon after facing misfortune, he loses his belief in that dream and ends up in jail. He told the story of his dream to an officer, who told him that he was a fool, but took note of the dream himself. The man returned to Baghdad along with the officer. Finally, the officer discovers the treasure hidden in that man’s home. The prophecy would have been fulfilled for that man, if he had had belief in the prophecy.

Example #3: Macbeth (By William Shakespeare)

A classic example of self-fulfilling prophecy is found in William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth. The three witches tell Macbeth that he will become a king, but after him the son of his best friend Banquo will ascend the throne. He became a king by killing Duncan, fulfilling the first half of the prophecy, and tried to keep his friend’s son away from the throne. He killed his best friend and his son, Fleance.

Eventually, the remaining half of the prophecy fulfilled itself. Macduff took revenge for his father’s death, and killed Macbeth to ascend to the throne. The audience at the time of Shakespeare did understand the fulfillment of the prophecy, as later on Macduff was succeeded by James I of England, who was a descendant of Banquo. Thus, the prophecy was fulfilled.

Function of Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

More often than not, the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy device in literature gives the readers a clear insight to the actions and motivations of the characters. Generally, it is used in literature to represent ironical situations, and the readers read the actions of the characters with interest, as they allow them to predict and to understand the outcome, despite the characters’ desperate efforts to avert it.

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Self-fulfilling prophecy – refers to the way humans change their behaviour to meet the expectations of others.

Also known as the Pygmalion effect, the self-fulfilling prophecy refers to how easily a person is influenced by the expectations of others – even if that expectation is based on a false belief. The effect can be negative or positive. Students who are expected to achieve a high score often work harder to meet those expectations regardless of whether they are middle or high achievers. Teachers also often place low expectations on students with behavioural issues. Subsequently, they are often less motivated, they are off task more often and they receive lower scores. The self-fulfilling prophecy can take seconds or even years to take effect. Here is an example:

A teacher thinks that all Chinese students are good at maths.
The teacher signals to Chinese students that high marks are expected.
The Chinese students eventually believe that they are good at maths and put in more effort.
Due to the additional effort, the Chinese students score better at maths.
The teacher sees that Chinese students score better, and the initial belief is confirmed.
The cycle continues each time the teacher works with Chinese students.

Here are some common beliefs that begin the self-fulfilling prophecy circle of effects:

A teacher believes that boys are better at computers than girls.
A teacher believes that ‘Johnny’ is not very smart.
A teacher believes that ‘Sarah’ is not destined for university.
A teacher believes that ‘Toby’ will struggle with reading his whole life.
A teacher believes that ‘Rachael’ will not achieve academically as she prefers practical, hands-on activities.
A teacher believes that ‘Alex’ (who has autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) will misbehave daily.
A teacher sets low academic expectations for students from indigenous cultures.
A teacher believes that all students in the class are high achievers.
A teacher believes that all students in the class are low achievers.

Teachers often place low expectations on students with behavioural issues. Subsequently, they are often less motivated, they are off task more often and they receive lower scores.

Setting high academic expectations for all students is known to be one of the most effective strategies in improving students’ performance.i This applies to all students regardless of their previous achievements – raising the bar even for high-flyers can help them to reach new heights previously thought unimaginable. Low-achieving students also benefit from high expectations provided they are reasonable and achievable. Teachers can set high expectations in a number of ways, such as setting SMART goals, repeatedly telling students that they can achieve, and not assuming that attributes out of their control precludes a person from academic achievement (attributes include race, culture, ethnicity, family background, socio-economic status, gender, behaviour, current level of skill, language, disabilities and disorders).

Low-achieving students benefit from high expectations provided they are reasonable and achievable.

The self-fulfilling prophecy takes time but can have either negative or positive consequences.

The self-fulfilling prophecy phenomenon can have significant long-term effects. For example, a teacher believes that Johnny is good at computers because she sees him on the computer every day (even though he is just playing games). She believes that mostly males become IT technicians which is reinforced by the fact that all 3 technicians at the school are male. Over a period of 6 months, the teacher repeatedly tells Johnny that he “is” good at computers (also due to the fact that the teacher is not tech savvy so she can’t accurately assess Johnny’s actual skill level). The teacher does this by asking Johnny to help other students when they have IT issues. Johnny has no idea how to fix the problems, but he is happy to help as he gets out of doing schoolwork for a few minutes. Johnny proceeds to type each problem into Google to find the solution. It does not take long for Johnny to believe that he actually is good at computers, much to his own surprise (and the teacher keeps saying it, so 'maybe' it's true).

Johnny starts to think that ‘IT is his thing’ and begins learning more in his spare time. The following year Johnny enrols in a computer course as an elective. The teacher sees Johnny in the computer class which confirms her belief that Johnny is good at computers. This experience also teaches the teacher that she is really good at ‘reading’ students and ‘predicting’ what they will do when they grow up. Johnny eventually becomes a network technician for his entire career in spite of the fact that he originally had no interest or skills in IT whatsoever. Johnny now tells people that ‘it’s just something he was always good at in school’.

Hint: confirmation bias is when a person looks for information that confirms their beliefs while ignoring anything that contradicts their belief. For example, a person searches online for the benefits of drinking green tea but does not search for or read anything about the negatives of drinking the green tea. When teachers and students confirm their initial beliefs, they may simultaneously ignore contradictory evidence. In the example above, the teacher ignored or dismissed the fact that Johnny was just playing mindless games as that didn’t confirm her belief – she chose to concentrate on the fact that Johnny was sitting at a computer – a fact that confirmed her belief.

Foot notes:

Hattie, J. (2009). Visible Learning. New York: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.

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