This research examined moderators of naturally occurring self-fulfilli
ng prophecies. The authors assessed whether positive or negative self-
fulfilling prophecies were more powerful and whether some targets were
more susceptible to self-fulfilling prophecies because of their self-
concepts in a particular achievement domain and previous academic reco
rds. Participants were 98 teachers and 1,539 students in sixth-grade p
ublic school math classes. Results yielded a strong pattern showing th
at teacher perceptions predicted achievement more strongly for low ach
ievers than for high achievers. Results also yielded a much weaker pat
tern showing that teacher overestimates predicted achievement more str
ongly than teacher underestimates. Implications for social perceptual
accuracy, self-enhancement theory, and understanding when self-fulfill
ing prophecies are stronger are discussed.