Question:

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Cycles

 
Using this worksheet to guide you, think of personal or imaginative examples of self-fulfilling
prophecy cycles for each scenario below.
 
A positive cycle involving academics.
 
Describe the scenario:
 

 
Break it down into the various elements:
 
Our action(s) towards others:
Others' belief(s) about us:
Others' action(s) towards us:
Our belief(s) about ourselves:

 
A negative cycle involving academics.
 
Describe the scenario:
 

 
Break it down into the various elements:
 
Our action(s) towards others:
Others' belief(s) about us:
Others' action(s) towards us:
Our belief(s) about ourselves:
 
A positive cycle involving relationships.

 
Describe the scenario:
 
 
Break it down into the various elements:
 
Our action(s) towards others:
Others' belief(s) about us:
Others' action(s) towards us:
Our belief(s) about ourselves:
 
A negative cycle involving relationships.
  
Describe the scenario:
 
 
Break it down into the various elements:
 
Our action(s) towards others:
Others' belief(s) about us:
Others' action(s) towards us:
Our belief(s) about ourselves:
 
 
 
 
 
 
Compare the two positive cycles. What do you notice is similar between them? What
areas are the most similar (our actions / beliefs, others' actions / beliefs)? Why do you
think they are similar? 
 
 
 
Compare the two negative cycles. What do you notice is similar between them? What
areas are the most similar (our actions / beliefs, others' actions / beliefs)? Why do you
think they are similar? 
 
 
 
Contrast the positive and negative academic cycles. What do you notice is different
between them? What areas are the most dissimilar (our actions / beliefs, others'
actions / beliefs)? Why do you think they are different?
 
 
 
Contrast the positive and negative relationship cycles. What do you notice is different
between them? What areas are the most dissimilar (our actions / beliefs, others'
actions / beliefs)? Why do you think they are different?
 
 
 
Why is it important to be able to recognize these cycles? How does think about them
proactively help you to see them more clearly? Why is it important to compare and
contrast cycles? What does it suggest about successful and failure?

Answer
Self-fulfilling Prophecy Cycles
Positive cycle in academic 
Scenario: A research teacher always remind her students to study hard and earn good
grades in order for them to have a bright and successful life in the future. Aside from this,
she makes sure to inform her students of her expectations about the class which is for them
to present their research studies in a colloquium. 
Our action(s) towards others: She always make sure to let her students know
her set of expectations for the whole class at the end of the semester. She ends
her discussions with motivational quotes or videos. 
Others' belief(s) about us: Her students then believes that their teacher only
wants what's best for them and for them to be able to produce a good research
studies to present in a colloquium. 
Others' action(s) towards us: Her students then spent more time researching
and reading more materials about their study. With frequent group meetings and
consultations. 
Our belief(s) about ourselves: At the end of the semester, her students were
able to produce quality research papers and was given an opportunity to present
their studies in a colloquium. They believed themselves and did their best to
meet their teachers expectations for them. 
 
Negative cycle in academic 
Scenario: Susan will be taking a college entrance exam soon. She has spent a significant
amount of time studying for the exam. Susan receives a call from her father as she enters
the building to take the test. Her father informs her that she has always struggled with test
anxiety and that she shouldn't be surprised if she doesn't do well.
Our action(s) towards others: Susan took the time and effort to study for the
entrance exam. 
Others' belief(s) about us: Because her father believes that Susan's anxiety will
cause her to fail the entrance exam. 
Others' action(s) towards us: Susan's father called and told her that it's okay if
she fails the test. 
Our belief(s) about ourselves: Her father's belief about her affected Susan's
performance while taking the entrance exam. 
 
This is an example of a self-fulfilling prophecy imposed by someone else.
Susan's father predicted that her anxiety would get in the way of her success,
and his prediction came true.
 
Positive cycle in a relationship
Scenario: David wants to ask Susan to be his girlfriend. Thus, he showered her with
presents and was always there for her whenever she needs someone to talk to. Susan's
father believes that David is the man for his daughter. 
 
 
 
Our action(s) towards others: David makes sure he was always present in every
occasion and event Susan has. 
Others' belief(s) about us: Susan's father believes that David is the one for his
daughter. 
 Others' action(s) towards us: Susan feels safe and comfortable around David
and always talks to him.
Our belief(s) about ourselves: David is now at peace knowing that Susan and
her family like him. David proved that courtship works. Eventually, Susan and
David became a couple.
 
Negative cycle in a relationship
Scenario: A man named Jake is planning to ask a woman out on a date. Jake has had
previous rejections and believes he is seeing a pattern. He knows the woman would say no
when he asks for a date, but he proceeds and asks anyway. With his hands in his pockets
and his head down, he approached her. Jake mumbles under his breath, "I know you
probably don't want to go out with me, but I'm asking anyway." She declines, just as he
predicted.
Our action(s) towards others: Jake's low self-confidence and body gestures
affected how the woman sees him. 
Others' belief(s) about us: The woman's believes that Jake is not good for her
considering how he approached her. 
Others' action(s) towards us: The woman then rejects Jake's proposal. 
Our belief(s) about ourselves: Jake then proved that no one would want to date
him.
 
1. I noticed that whether the self-fulfilling prophecy is employed by ourselves or by others,
as long as it pushes us to believe in ourselves and provide a necessary action. Thus, the
areas that are most similar for me is our beliefs upon ourselves because intrinsic motivation
always causes positive outcomes and will make it hard to take away from us. 
 
2. In the negative cycle, I noticed that others' beliefs about us are the most similar and
greatly affects the outcome, actions, and beliefs of the person. 
 
3. The academic cycle are both examples of other-imposed self-fulfilling prophecy. Thus,
our beliefs and others' actions are different and greatly affects the result of our beliefs and
actions because in the negative cycle, extrinsic motivation is highlighted and is given more
importance while in the positive cycle, intrinsic motivation is utilized. 
 
4. In the relationship cycle our actions towards others and our beliefs about ourselves are
completely different because for me, self-confidence and self-representation is highlighted
in both scenarios which also resulted in a complete different outcomes because in cycle 1,
David is confident that Susan and her family will like her which affected his actions towards
others, while Jake in cycle 2 was ruled by his beliefs about himself, reason why he got
rejected. 
 
5.1 As human beings, we are influenced by how other people perceive us which greatly
affects how we see ourselves. Therefore, being able to recognize these cycles helps us
understand and perform better decisions in life since we are able to weigh down the
consequences of our actions and beliefs. 
5.2 Being proactive means to provide an action towards a decision being made which is
why thinking proactively helps us see the consequences more clearly because we are able
to put ourselves on the situation. 
5.3 Comparing and contrasting these cycles helps us to see the bigger picture of the
scenario which will help us make better judgments and decisions in life. 
 
5.4 A self-fulfilling prophecy is an example of bias, which is a belief that can influence the
result or presentation of information. Being aware of negative self-fulfilling prophecies can
assist you in improving your self-talk and avoiding the consequences of these predictions.
Self-fulfilling prophecies, on the other hand, can be used to your benefit if you exercise
positivity and expect better things from yourself.
 
Source: https://positivepsychology.com/self-fulfilling-prophecy/
https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/other/self-fulfilling-prophecy-
examples/