How Social Expectations Can Predict Our Social Realities
“Think back to a time when you didn’t want to go somewhere because you thought it was going to be miserably boring, only to go and find your expectations confirmed. Or, after not being particularly thrilled about a job you applied for, went to an interview anyway, and weren’t too surprised to find out it wasn’t a good fit. We can all think of plenty of times in our lives when our expectations about something ended up being right. But what we may not be considering is how our expectations might actually predict what plays out in our lives.
One famous theory about this idea is called the self-fulfilling prophecy. The self-fulfilling prophecy suggests that when we form an expectancy about something, that expectancy colors both how we see it and how we behave towards it. If we expect to fail at something, for example, we might see it as more difficult than it really is and put in less effort to accomplish it. Then, should we fail, we are able to say we knew we would from the beginning. This broad phenomenon shows the general impact that our expectations can have over our realities: that we often allow our expectations to set us up for failures and successes. Although there are many things that contribute to the types of relationships we have, a study conducted at the University of Virginia suggested that the general attitudes we hold about others might set up us for success or difficulty in future relationships. Our attitudes are likely to shape our behavior toward others, and we are likely to receive the same behavior from others that we extend to them. While there are no clear answers as to how exactly or to what degree our expectations influence our realities, there seems to be a connection between a person’s internal social expectations and the social reality that actually occurs. This suggests that changing our expectations about how others will see and behave toward us to be more positive may go a long way toward actually setting us up for more successful relationships in the future.”
Read the whole article at Psychology Today
#Attitudes #Relationships #SocialExpectations
💬 Have you ever experienced a self-fulfilling prophecy?
@globalBraid3744 I think this is something that troubles all of us at some point. We daydream everything to be perfect and forget our own contribution to our dreams.
I really like this theory, it's very new to me but I've been doing something similar subconciously. We should always give in order to receive.
Thank you for the great post!
@calmDew1576
I agree with you! We often forget to focus on things that we can control in our lives that could help us move closer to our goals and dreams.
@globalBraid3744
I've always found the notion of self-fulfilling prophesies interesting!
I have definitely been a victim of it!
Thanks for the article! <3💛✨
@innateJoy9602
It is definitely difficult not to become a victim of self-fulfilling prophecies, however, learning how to acknowledge patterns that lead to it helps prevention :)