RP128 The Pygmalion Effect

RP128 The Pygmalion Effect

“You get what you expect.” That's the Pygmalion Effect, in a nutshell. Studies show that people tend to live up to—or down to—the expectations people place on them. Our reality really is influenced by the opinions and expectations of others. When other people expect us to be great, we are more likely to be great. When we aren't expected to perform well, we usually won't bother. It is amazing how affected we are by the labels people attach to us.

Many studies have demonstrated the Pygmalion Effect. One study, by Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson, randomly selected students in several classrooms. Teachers were told that these students were especially smart. The teachers, therefore, expected high performance from these students—and they got it! At the end of the year, the randomly selected students had increased their IQs and performed better overall than the rest, even though they were actually no better or smarter than the rest of the class. Their teachers had believed that they had great potential, and that had caused the potential to appear.

There is a downside to the Pygmalion Effect, of course. Just as we rise to meet high expectations, we may be knocked down by low expectations. Jane Elliott conducted a famous test on school children. She divided them by eye color—blue versus brown. One day, the blue-eyed group was praised while those with brown eyes were told they were inferior. The next day, the roles were reversed. Students took spelling tests on both days. Most students did very badly on the day they were made to feel “inferior.”

Labels can create reality. People who are expected to fail often fail; people who are labeled as winners generally win. If you want to get the best from yourself, expect it!