A forecast that affects what actually happens so that it becomes true. This is related to the Pygmalion Principle or, as in <I>My Fair Lady</I>, a woman who is treated like a lady becomes a lady. Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) present evidence on this phenomenon. In many cases, the effects can be beneficial. Sherman (1980) found that when people were asked how they would respond in a given situation, they tended to cast themselves in a responsible and favorable manner. Then, when later faced with the situation, they tended to live up to their predictions. <a href="search.pl?p=Scenarios">Scenarios</a> can be used to present forecasts so as to create self-fulfilling prophecies.<o:p></o:p></P>
<ul>
  <li><SPAN Plous, 
S. (1993), <I>Rosenthal, R. &amp; L. Jacobson (1968) , <I>Pygmalion in the Classroom</I>. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.</SPAN></li>
  <li><SPAN Plous, 
S. (1993), <I>Sherman, S. J. (1980), “On the self-erasing nature of 
errors of prediction,” <I>Journal of Personality and Social Psychology</I>, 39, 
211-221.</SPAN></li>
</ul>