Evaluation of Self-Fulfilling Prophecy and Crime Flashcards
Rosenthal and Jacobsen - aim, method, results, positive of SFP
Rosenthal and Jacobsen aimed to determine whether teacher expectations of a student would influence their performance. They pre-tested students with IQ tests. Teachers were informed of “bloomers”, who were in fact randomly chosen individuals, and the students were re-tested after a year of learning with the teacher. The results showed that students identified as “bloomers” improved more significantly on the intelligence test than the other students - demonstrates definite relationship between expectations of individuals and their resultant behaviour
Rosenthal and Jacobsen - criticisms
The study is ethically questionable and may have had a long-term effect on students not selected as “bloomers”. It was artificial as the teachers were given a false belief that was not one they already held, meaning the study lacks ecological validity. Demand characteristics may have made teachers feel they had to act upon the information given to them by uni researchers
Jahonda - aim, method, results, positive of SFP
Jahonda aimed to investigate whether cultural expectations about the effects of the day of birth show in the behaviour of boys born on different days. Jahonda studied a Ghanaian ethnic group, the Ashanti, noting boys were named according to the day on which they were born. It is traditional for the Ashanti to believe Monday-born boys are quiet and placid, giving them the name Kwadwo, and Wednesday-born boys are aggressive and short-tempered, called Kwadku. He looked at records of a local juvenile court that covered a five year period, finding that nearly 22% of violent offences were committed by Wednesday boys, but only 6.9% were committed by Monday boys, suggesting cultural expectations about the boys’ natures and their explicit labels led to differentiated treatment, and the boys therefore fulfilled expected differences
Jahonda - criticisms
A naturalistic study where variables were not manipulated; data came from official court records and were valid. The results seem too significantly conclusive to be down to some other factor, and it is difficult to find another factor which could have influenced these results so significantly. However, the data cannot be said to be reliable because the study has to been replicated due to its naturalistic design
Madon - aim, method, results, positive of SFP
Madon aimed to investigate self-fulfilling prophecy in a natural setting outside education. 505 mother-child pairs were studied longitudinally using interviews and questionnaires. The initial interview included a measure of the mother’s expectations for her child’s alcohol use. There was a strong positive correlation between parental expected use and actual use 18 months on, suggesting parental expectations about drinking became a self-fulfilling prophecy
Madon - criticisms
Only a correlation, which does not imply causality - there may be an intervening factor and causality cannot be assumed. However, it was a naturalistic study and therefore holds significant ecological validity
