Self-fulfilling prophecy

Question 1

Conform

Answer 1

To adjust to expectations made of us

Question 2

Self-fulfilling prophecy

Answer 2

When expectations of others influence our behavior

Question 3

Self-fulfilling prophecy as an explanation for criminality

Answer 3

• If other’s expect us to behave badly, we then will conform to that expectation.

Question 4

Example of self-fulfilling prophecy

Answer 4

• Low expectations at school
• How we are treated at school. If a teacher has low expectations of you not doing well, they will not expect a lot from you
• They may not give you the opportunity to extend your knowledge and give less attention than those achieving high
• As a result, we may perform poorly in school as we are not motivated to do well or work hard.
• We have fulfilled the prophecy that we are not going to do well

Question 5

Rosenthal and Jacobsen

Answer 5

• Conducted an experiment to test whether achievement could be self-fulfilling prophecy
• Gave students an IQ test and told the teachers which students were going to be high achievers
• However, this was a deceit as the teachers were given a random list of names
• Found that the teachers did not expect much from those average and gave all their attention to the ‘bloomers’
• After a year, they retested the children
• IQ of the average had fallen and the ‘bloomers’ had risen
• The teachers’ expectations of the children’s ability to perform had affected how they were treated, affecting the children’s performance

Question 6

Gustav Jahoda

Answer 6

• Studied Ashanti people
• Name their children after the day of the week they were born and believed that the names of boys correlate to their temperament
  e. g. Children born on Wednesday = Kwadku; aggressive and angry
• Johoda studied arrest records arrest records and found that 22% of the boys arrested were born on Wednesday compared to monday.
• Explained by self-fulfilling prophecy as those born on Wednesday were expected to be aggressive and behave badly, people around them would have treated them differently. For example, treated as if they would be impulsive or lash out if confronted

Question 7

Weakness of self-fulfilling prophecy 1)

Answer 7

• Only found a link between a child’s name and criminal behavior through correlation.
• It is unethical to study self-fulfilling prophecy as a cause of criminality by treating someone differently and seeing how it affected their behavior
• It cannot be studied in such a way to prove it causes criminality

Question 8

Weakness of self-fulfilling prophecy 2)

Answer 8

• We may reject the way we are treated by others and so do not fulfill the prophecy
  e. g if a teacher believes we will not do well, we may work harder to prove them wrong
• Does not take into a factor that they are other reasons for a crime such as biological reasons to families we are raised in.