Sometimes the outcome of a situation comes down to how we think something is going to happen. This is called a
Self-fulfilling Prophecy. This means that preconceived notions about the outcome of something within a person's control directly affect the outcome of said situation.
For example, if there is a young boy in your community who comes from a less than upstanding family, people in your community may treat him as though he were a criminal even if he's never done anything amiss.
Day after day he is treated like a thief despite never having stolen as much as a stick of gum. One day he's in a store. He sees something he desperately wants but doesn't have enough money. Maybe he consciously thinks, "I may as well. People already think I would." Or maybe he doesn't think along those lines at all. Either way, because of social pressure telling him that he is a thief, he probably becomes one.