The accumulation of stereotype-based self-fulfilling prophecies.
Abstract
A recurring theme in the psychological literature is that the self-fulfilling effect of stereotypes can accumulate across perceivers. This article provides the first empirical support for this long-standing hypothesis. In three experiments (Ns = 123-241), targets more strongly confirmed a stereotype as the number of perceivers who held stereotypic expectations about them increased. A fourth experiment (N = 121) showed that new perceivers judged targets according to the stereotypic behaviors they had previously been channeled to adopt, an effect that even occurred among perceivers who were privy to the fact that targets' behavior had been shaped by the actions of others. The authors discuss ways in which these effects may contribute to group inequalities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).
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Self-fulfilling prophecies can be pernicious when the beliefs at the center capture negative social conceptions, such as stereotypes, anxious expectations, fear, or hostility.
“Importantly, SFPs can be pernicious when the beliefs at the center of them capture negative social conceptions, for instance, stereotypes, anxious expectations, fear, or hostility (Darley and Gross 1983;Downey et al. 1998;Madon et al. 2018).”
From What Is the Function of Confirmation Bias? (2022) · cites this paper as Madon et al. 2018
In contemporary societies, overall accumulative SFP effects of negative social beliefs (e.g., stereotypes) might be stronger than those of positive social beliefs in individual dyadic interactions.
“in contemporary societies, overall accumulative SFP effects of negative social beliefs capturing, e.g., stereotypes might be stronger than those of positive social beliefs in individual dyadic interactions(Madon et al. 2018).”
From What Is the Function of Confirmation Bias? (2022) · cites this paper as Madon et al. 2018
SFPs can accumulate when they occur across different interactions.
“SFPs can also accumulate when they occur across different interactions”
From What Is the Function of Confirmation Bias? (2022) · cites this paper as Madon et al. 2018
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What Is the Function of Confirmation Bias?
Peters, U. (2022) · Erkenntnis · doi:10.1007/s10670-020-00252-1 · Cited by 163 · see citing works
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“This question enabled us to examine whether astrological sign would predict personality for believers, because believers might have internalized the stereotyped personalities of their astrological signs because of selffulfilling prophecy (Hilton & von Hippel, 1996; Madon et al., 2018; Merton, 1948).”
BackgroundGenerational differences at work? A meta‐analysis and qualitative investigation
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“) may often explain these differences in a similar manner, underestimating the long-term potential of students who are initially lower-achieving and thereby creating further obstacles to their success in school (e.g., Batruch, Autin, Bataillard, & Butera, 2019; Madon et al., 2018).”
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“When teams develop negative beliefs about a person, whether based on stereotypes or past experience, these beliefs may become self-fulfilling prophecies, especially if an individual is expected to be hostile [14, 17].”
BackgroundBriñol, P., & Petty, R. E. (2020) · European Review of Social Psychology · doi:10.1080/10463283.2020.1798102 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
“, 2018), self-fulfiling prophecies (Madon et al., 2018), and even”
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Bardach, L., Neuendorf, C., Murayama, K., Fahrbach, T., Knigge, M., Nagengast, B., & Trautwein, U. (2023) · npj Science of Learning · doi:10.1038/s41539-023-00203-9 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Stereotypes and self-fulfilling prophecies in the Bayesian brain
Villiger, D. (2023) · Inquiry · doi:10.1080/0020174x.2023.2166983 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
“Therefore, both perceivers combined elicited a self-fulfilling prophecy with an effect size of d = 1.69 (Madon et al. 2018).”
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Almadi, S. (2022) · Society and Economy · doi:10.1556/204.2022.00001 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
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“Social class and racial/ethnicdifferencesinself-perceptions and perceptionsby otherscould then act as a self-ful fi lling prophecy, amplifying initial inequalities in achievement 24,25 .”
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“As and when these sorts of beliefs take hold, the homogeneity bias, much like the determinism bias, potentially sets up a self-fulfilling obesity prophecy (Puhl & Brownell 2003; Madon et al. 2018).”
Stereotypes as Bayesian prediction of social groups
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“In fact, most past work fails to explicitly acknowledge the existence of any evidence supporting stereotype accuracy (see Jussim et al., 2015, 2018), despite there being considerable evidence for the same (e.g., Chan et al., 2012; Jussim, 2018; Jussim et al., 2015; Löckenhoff et al., 2014).”
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“Further, when these stereotypes are activated, they may influence the target to act in ways that reinforce the stereotypes (see self-fulfilling prophecies; Madon et al., 2018).”
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“This lack of engagement can restrict the therapist’s ability to tailor interventions and eventually confirm the client’s negative expectations, creating a self-fulfilling cycle that undermines outcomes (Madon et al., 2018).”
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Cundiff, J. M., Smith, T. W., & Williams, A. C. (2025) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/17456916251372120 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“Thus, stereotypes influence what others expect of us and what we expect of ourselves, and these expectancies represent a consistent and recurring influence on behavior during interpersonal situations (Madon et al., 2018).”
Division of Labor Over the Life Course: Structural or Symbolic Pressures?
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Approaches between Self-Efficacy and Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, Perspectives from Education
Quintero, J., Santos, J., & Valencia, A. (2022) · Journal of Educational and Social Research · doi:10.36941/jesr-2022-0143 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“On the other hand, Madon et al. (2018) discusses the implications of the cumulative effect of stereotypes, their behavior as a self-fulfilling prophecy and the implications at the social level. In turn, Gutiérrez & Mayordomo (2019) highlight that the stereotypical beliefs of students in university programs in the heal…”
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“However, those expectations can be self-fulfilling: not only are stereotypes the product of excessive generalization, but they can pressure individuals into maintaining the status quo and adopting certain behaviors to justify the system they live in (Jost et al., 2004; Madon et al., 2018; Towson et al., 2020).”
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Peters, U. (2020) · Synthese · doi:10.1007/s11229-020-02846-2 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
“Moreover, as mentioned, SFPs can accumulate across multiple social interactions if different perceivers hold the same kind of view about a target (Madon et al. 2018).”
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Aday, A., Engstrom, H. R., & Schmader, T. (2025) · Psychology Science · doi:10.1177/09567976251353753
“For example, in Madon et al. (2018), perceivers provided men and women with stereotypically gendered magazines they could choose to read, which magnified observers’ tendency to perceive the magazine readers in gender-stereotypical ways.”
InfluentialTreptow, R. L., Browne, J. V., Feder, J. D., Glovinsky, I., & Skotko, B. (2025) · American Journal of Medical Genetics. Part A · doi:10.1002/ajmg.a.64166
“…to children and families (Abramson et al. 1978; Bick et al. 2015; Borthwick 1996; Chen and Baram 2016; Iezzoni et al. 2021; Krugers et al. 2017; Madon et al. 2018; Masten and Cicchetti 2010; McLaughlin et al. 2017; McLaughlin, Sheridan, and Lambert 2014; McLaughlin, Sheridan, Winter, et al.…”
Stereotypes and biases in recruiting PhD holders: a professional profile experiment
Bran, A., & Lopes, N. (2025) · Higher Education Research & Development · doi:10.1080/07294360.2025.2462021
“Stereotypes also reinforce confirmation bias, where individuals selectively notice behaviors that confirm their pre-conceptions and overlook contradictory evidence (Madon et al., 2018).”
“Respectful” Home-School Relationships
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- Authors
- Madon, S., Jussim, L., Guyll, M., Nofziger, H., Salib, E. R., Willard, J., & Scherr, K. C.
- Affiliations
- Iowa State University (US)
- Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (US)
- Kennesaw State University (US)
- Central Michigan University (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
- Published
- 2018-11
- Volume
- 115
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 825-844
- ISSN
- 0022-3514 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1315
- OpenAlex
- W2897782253
- Cited by
- 37
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 2
- FWCI
- 6.81
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Update notices
- correction (2018-12-31)
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DigitalCommons - Kennesaw State University (Kennesaw State University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social Power and Status Dynamics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Racial and Ethnic Identity Research
- Keywords
- self-fulfilling prophecy, social influence, group inequality
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Female, Humans, Male, Self Concept, Stereotyping, Students, Racial Groups, Overweight, Young Adult, Sexism
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