Originally published in 1977, Self-Fulfilling Prophecies: Social, Psychological, and Physiological Effects of Expectancies integrates a wide variety of research and theory dealing with inter- and intrapersonal expectancies, from which the author develops a new theoretical model. The model explores the relationships between a person’s expectation of success and both the objective probability of success and the effort expended in pursuit of the goal. The author also explores in detail the interdependence of one’s interpersonal expectancies (as in implicit personality theories, stereotypes, and the labeling approach to deviant behavior), and an individual's personal goals. With the development of the theoretical model, the author critically reviews the literature on performance and goal-seeking behavior at the time. Finally, the influences of expectancies on susceptibility to illness, placebo effects, and psychosomatic disease are discussed.

This will be a volume of interest to all concerned with human motivation and goal-seeking behavior and today can be read in its historical context.