Self Fulfilling Prophecies and Beliefs

What we believe about the world can be so embedded into our mind that it can be hard to change. Even when there is clear evidence that we are wrong, we continue with our beliefs. Such beliefs often take the form of self-fulfilling prophecies.

This basically means that if you genuinely believe something to be true even if it is not true, you will inadvertently behave in such a manner which would result in your belief becoming reality. A great example is a research conducted on elementary school students. The researchers conducted an "IQ test" on all the students. These students were divided into two groups. They told the teachers that one group had scored exceedingly high and were gifted. They said about the other group that these students had regular IQ scores.

Actually, the researchers categorised these students into the groups randomly. However, the teachers truly believed that some of their students were gifted. Consequently, their behaviour towards them also changed. After 8 months, when the researchers returned to this school to take the test again, the group whom the teachers believed to be gifted actually scored much higher than the other group.

The teachers believed that these students are gifted, and so changed their approach towards them, resulting in them actually performing better. Hence, what we expect to happen often actually happens.