What happens when we take fake for the truth?

How to recognize a fake and how our attitude to lies influences the future events?

Once upon a time there was Cartwright Millingville and he ran a small bank in the Midwest. Things were going well, assets were liquid, and investments were profitable. But one afternoon a large group of depositors came to the bank, worried about the rumor that the bank had financial problems.

Newspapers pay attention to this fact, the next day even more people come to take back their deposits. There is not enough free liquidity; the amount of payments to one hand is limited. Panic begins. The initial rumor of financial troubles became reality.

This is a fictional example from the work of Merton. An illustrative real fact, or rather a problem, is the existence of self-fulfilling prophecies.

Having taken some fake for truth, we begin to behave in accordance with the new knowledge. And our behavior can lead to the fact that the initially false statement is fulfilled.

This is very, very convenient for manipulation. If you tell a person that a colleague has responded well to him, that person will smile and communicate better with this colleague. As a result, he will really begin to speak well of him.

It is really very important to remember when raising children - parents, as unconditional authorities for a child, can very easily put thoughts like "I'm stupid", "I'm not good at mathematics," "sport is not mine," and so on in his/her head.

Well, and we - if we consider our clients or subordinates to be donkeys – the scientists assure you, this is how they will behave.