Self-Fulling Prophecy Analysis

An experience from my life that I shall analyze using a sociological lens took place during elementary and high school. Opening in elementary school, which I attended after my two eldest sisters had already began a few years before me, I started to be noticed by numerous teachers as their sibling. My oldest sisters both did a notable job in school, achieving noticeably high grades and a well-known acknowledgment for their excellent behaviour. Consequently, my teachers all had established high expectations for me to reach by the time I was in grade eight. These set outlooks from teachers about how I was supposed to perform and to what level of success I was expected to exceed was a highly effective motivator. Accordingly, this aided me in developing …show more content…
Brym and Lie (2012) state that the self-fulling prophecy is “an expectation that helps to cause what it predicts” (p.61). This prophecy is a type of prediction directed towards a person and whether or not the individual is aware of this, its message tends to leave an immense impact if they believe it to be true. The prophecy may hold false or true claims, however due to its negative or positive impact it will have on a person, it will influence how their behaviour will change in light to becoming aware of the message being conveyed. The expectations being implied through the prophecy and the way one chooses to react, which is shown through changes in behaviour will ultimately determine if this prophecy will become self-fulfilling (Brym and Lie 2012:61). In my experience, I was impacted by the effects of the self-fulfilling prophecy by how my teachers and family had a high set of rigid expectations for me to fulfill based off my sister’s previous successes. The fact that they believed I would be able to achieve these expectations made me believe I could, which changed my behaviours as to fulfill and make truth of their idea of me. Nevertheless, this self-fulling prophecy also had its negative implications, despite the initial positive effect. This occurred when I received unconstructive criticism from my other …show more content…
This is a manner of viewing the world which enables the viewer to draw connections between one’s personal conundrums with current global problems, while taking into consideration the history of societies and their social structures (Innocente 2016). Taking into account my experience, I recognize that globally, multiple people have also been in a similar situation to my own but are effected in different ways. Other people in my situation have also had expectations forced upon them by others, however, some are more disadvantaged than others when it comes to this. People have been discouraged to not succeed more than others within institutions such as school due to the built in discrimination that has been interwoven into society’s structures, which is a way society ensures hierarchy. By knowing that the history and survival of various societies has been consistently reliant on a hierarchy to exist, dividing people into lower and upper class, I can draw conclusions as to what the functions of this are. The self-fulfilling prophecy is a way to guarantee a hierarchy’s existence. Within institutions such as school the hidden curriculum is to create individuals that will be capable of becoming a successful, working participant of the community to benefit society. However, for society to function all jobs including low and high paying must be filled, which is why society must ensure that some