The idea that teachers' expectations can affect students is further related to a long-standing proposition in sociology, "the self-fulfilling prophecy". This phenomenon occurs in areas far beyond that of education. It suggests that expectations in a variety of fields,from politics to sports, can genuinely affect the outcome: that one's expectations become real by belief in the expectation itself (wineburg 28-37). The terms "self-fulfilling prophecy" and "the pygmalion effect" have thus entered the english language as concepts in sociology and psychology.