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Self fulfilling prophecies are a very real phenomenon (sp?) I know that there are more than several studies done by sociologists adn phychologists of their validity.
If you are looking for something, aren't you more likely to find? And if you're looking for it, then when you don't find it you are more likely to twist experiences to make them fit what you think will happen.
Sometimes the person who is really changed by it won't even know that they are fulfilling someone elses prophecy. Perfect example is a study (done by who I can't remember right now...stupid studying for a history final) in which the researchers randomly selected students to call "gifted" and then told their teachers that they were. Those students who had been average before all of a sudden started getting better grades, fulfilling the teachers prophecy. (This also demonstrates that teachers teach differently to students they think are gifted).
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