Self-fulfilling prophecy

Perhaps the Titanic's owners made a grave mistake when they called it unsinkable. Why? Did they tempt fate? Or perhaps a lack of knowledge led to subconscious decisions by the crew, decisions that led to the disaster? For example, what tempted the crew to increase the ship's speed in an ocean area rife with icebergs? Did they feel they had something to prove?

Psychiatrist Dr. John Barker has theorized the existence of self-fulfilling prophecies, where the mind tends to bring something about in reality. Many cases of precognition could be subsumed under this idea—it's just a simple variation on a possible mechanism related to astrology. However, it falls far short of fully understanding our ability to influence the future.