Pygmalion Effect
Higher expectations lead to improved performance due to changed behavior toward those expected to succeed.
Also known as: Rosenthal effect, Expectation effect, High expectation benefit
Category: Concepts
Tags: psychology, expectations, leadership, performance, education
Explanation
The Pygmalion effect is the phenomenon where higher expectations of someone lead to improved performance, because those expectations influence behavior toward them. Named after the Greek myth (and the Rosenthal-Jacobson experiment), teachers who believed certain students would excel treated them differently - more warmth, more feedback, more opportunity - and those students actually did improve more. The mechanism works through: differential treatment (giving more attention, challenge, feedback), climate (creating a supportive atmosphere), input (providing more teaching), and output (allowing more opportunities to respond). The effect applies to: classrooms, workplaces, relationships, and parenting. The reverse (Golem effect) shows that low expectations lead to worse performance. Understanding the effect enables: intentionally setting high expectations, recognizing when expectations are limiting performance, and creating environments that communicate belief in potential. For knowledge workers, the Pygmalion effect suggests: the power of others' expectations on your performance, your expectations' impact on those you lead, and the importance of communicating belief in potential.
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