I need help with this assignment. Try this exercise to counteract the self-fulfi
ID: 3453394 • Letter: I
Question
I need help with this assignment.
Try this exercise to counteract the self-fulfilling prophecy: Find someone who is a member of a group you dislike and strike up a conversation with the person. For example, sit next to this person in one of your classes, or strike up a conversation at a party or gathering. Try to imagine that this individual is the friendliest, kindest, sweetest person you have ever met. Be as warm and charming as you can be. Don’t go overboard; if, after never speaking to this person, you suddenly act like Mr. or Ms. Congeniality, you might arouse suspicion. The trick is to act as if you expect the person to be extremely pleasant and friendly. Observe this person’s reactions. Describe what happened. Were you surprised by how friendly the person was in responding to you? Or not? To what extent was their reaction to you influenced by the way you treated them? What does (or doesn’t) this tell you about the self-fulfilling prophesy?
Explanation / Answer
Self-fulfilling prophecy refers to having one's behaviour guided by the expectaions of the outcome of a situation or event irrespective of it being positive or negative. For instance, in the above case, I dislike a person, I don't talk to him because I expect to not like him. However, if I instead chose to make a conversation with him, casually chat up, keeping my biases aside, I was surprised about how well this person spoke to me. Yes, he was a little taken aback when I approached to chat up, however, he became comfortable with me and was nothing like what I expected him to be. He was indeed very friendly. He was very nice to me when I spoke to him well. Perhaps, earlier I thought him to be a snoot because of my treatment towards him. The self fulfilling prophecy is indeed a prophecy because I definitely did not expect the outcome of having a chat with this person to go as smooth as it went and me liking him.