A new babysitter is warned by a child's parents that their son is very aggressive and loud. As a result of this initial expectation, the babysitter behaves in such a way that these very behaviours are evoked from the child, thus confirming what the sitter was initially told. This example best demonstrates the phenomenon called
A)the self-fulfilling prophecy
B)social facilitation
C)the fundamental attribution error
D)social loafing

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The self-fulfilling prophecy occurs when an individual's expectations about someone else lead to behaviors that cause those expectations to come true. In this scenario, the babysitter's expectation of the child being aggressive and loud influences their behavior in a way that actually brings about these behaviors in the child, thus confirming the initial expectation.

A New Babysitter Is Warned by a Child's Parents That