The Self-fulfilling Prophecy and Dissonance

How do our beliefs or attitudes change the people around us? Do we unconsciously create our own failures and successes? How can we become more aware of these influences?

Have you ever had to act in a way that was not in agreement with your personal values? What role does cognitive dissonance play in your own life?

This activity will address Module Outcomes 1, 2, and 3. By the end of this activity you will be able to:

• Discuss how social judgments and beliefs are related.
• Discuss the self-fulfilling prophecy and its impact on behavior.
• Define and explain various theories that determine our behaviors and attitudes.

Instructions for PSY 360 and MLS 560 Learners

After reading Chapters 3 and 4, watch the following video:

Self Fulfilling Prophecy (Links to an external site.)
(Links to an external site.)

Answer the following questions:

• Describe a personal example of a self-fulfilling prophecy, something you have experienced or witnessed in your own life.
• Now, describe a time when you personally experienced cognitive dissonance, and explain how you resolved the dissonance.
  • With reference to your example, describe how cognitive dissonance theory explains thoughts and behaviors when people act in ways that are contrary to their personal beliefs.
  • Think of a way in which cognitive dissonance theory can be used as a catalyst to positively impact a change in behavior, and describe your example.

  Initial Discussion PostWe ask that your initial post should be at least 250 words and must substantively integrate the assigned readings from the module with proper APA (Links to an external site.) style formatting. You may use additional sources and materials as long as they are relevant to the discussion and cited properly with APA style citations.We encourage you to visit the Library (Links to an external site.) or the Excelsior OWL (Links to an external site.) for assistance with APA style formatting.