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Running head: NEMO’S SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY

Nemo’s Self- fulfilling Prophecy

Jasmin Reehal (3007806)

Grant MacEwan University

Psychology 241 OP01

Rodney Schmaltz

May 22, 2020

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A significant concept from one of the five chapters we have read about would be the self-

fulfilling prophecy. Self-fulfilling prophecy “is an expectation about what another person is like,

which influences how they act toward that person, which, in turn, causes that person to behave

consistently with their original expectations” (Aronson, Fehr, Akert, & Wilson, 2017, p.57).

Simply, it’s where something that comes true because of the expectation that it will. There are

two types of self-fulfilling prophecies. Self-imposed prophecies “occur when your own

expectations influence your behavior” (Adler & Towne, n.d., para 2). Other-imposed prophecies

are “expectations of one person governs another’s actions” (Adler & Towne, n.d., para 5). This

can be considered a form of bias because the impact of our beliefs and expectations on outcomes

can come true. Self-fulfilling prophecies are a popular concept used in media and play a part in

our daily lives.

Self-fulfilling prophecies play a significant role in movies, TV shows, and literature. The

film, Finding Nemo, demonstrates the concept of self-fulfilling prophecy. Nemo is abducted and

placed in a fish tank in a dentist’s office in Sydney, Australia. He is warmly welcomed by a

diverse group of fish and he becomes extremely close with a fish named Gill who has a physical

ailment, just like him. Gill had scratches and a shredded fin and Nemo had a small fin. Gill was

supportive and empowered Nemo to believe in himself, unlike his dad. All the fish made a plan

to try to escape the dentist’s office and they relied on Nemo to execute the plan. Nemo was

hesitant at first because all his life he was told that because he had an undersized fin, he couldn’t

do anything for himself. But the confidence he got from Gill made him believe in his abilities.

He completely failed to break the tank’s filter system the first time because he was anxious, and

this completely traumatized him. Nemo’s Dad was overprotective and instead of encouraging

Nemo to fight his battles he expects that he’s always unable to do anything and Marlin always
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needs to be on his side. Nemo is consistently being told that he can’t do things for himself so

he’s always afraid to try. When he wasn’t able to break the filter system, he came to terms that

because of his undersized fin he is unable to do anything for himself and his dad was right. This

is the perfect example of a self-fulfilling prophecy that has been imposed by others. There is a

second scene where Nemo does not have the determination to go through the filtration system

again until a pelican named Nigel tells Nemo of the journey his father has been on to save him.

When Nemo heard about his father’s bravery this inspired him to face his fears and attempt to

stop the filtration system for a second time. Nemo had been told constantly that due to his

underdeveloped fin, he was unable to do what most other fish could do. This led Nemo to believe

that he would not be capable of fighting the current in the filter. He wouldn’t have tried again if

he didn’t find out that his father, who was afraid of everything, was traveling throughout the

ocean, going through hurdles to rescue him. The second time he was successful because he

believed in himself and this scene also demonstrates the self-fulfilling prophecy and how

sometimes the opposite can happen, as well.

An example from my own experience with the idea of self-fulfilling prophecy would be

when I look at the history of my relationships. I have had a couple of bad relationships when the

guy has cheated or lost interest and completely ignored me. Each time I was in a new

relationship I always had the fear the guy would cheat or leave me. Usually every time I met

him, I would ask him if he was going to break up with me or if he’s talking to other girls on

social media. I just kept believing that a man will hurt me and let me down. Thoughts would be

constantly running through my mind that all the good men are taken, and I end up with the bad

ones. My experience matched the film in the sense that I was always expecting rejection which

leads me to behave in a way that made my partners want to completely reject me. This was
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similar to Nemo whenever he wanted to try something new or try to experience new things, he

always expected he could not do it, or he would fail. Nemo would always think that he won’t be

able to live a normal life like the other fish because his dad tells I realized because of my self-

fulfilling prophecy that I have self-imposed, someone that I would love and care about would

leave due to my insecurities and my constant paranoia. It is different in the sense that I do not

have any physical or mental disability and it is mostly self-imposed unlike Nemo’s. My example

is similar because Nemo had low expectations of himself and this led him to act in ways to

confirm those expectations and I also had very low expectations of relationships and it always

ended as I thought it would.

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References

Aronson, E., Fehr, B., Akert, R. M., & Wilson, T. D. (2017). Social psychology. Pearson Canada.

Adler, R. B., & Towne, N. (n.d.). The Influence of the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy. Retrieved from:

https://www.townsendpress.net/class/exercises/assignment/38/4987