The Pygmalion effect is the phenomenon in which higher expectations placed on a person lead to improved performance from that person, operating as a self-fulfilling prophecy in which the expectation itself, and the way it changes how the expecting party treats the person, brings about the very outcome expected. It has been studied most extensively in classrooms, where a teacher's elevated expectations of a student have been shown to measurably raise that student's performance, and also in workplace and military training settings. Psychologists Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson gave the effect its landmark demonstration in 1968, in a study in which teachers were falsely told that certain randomly selected students were about to show unusual intellectual growth. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Core ClaimWhen someone in a position of authority genuinely expects better performance from a person, that expectation itself, through changed treatment, tends to produce the better performance. 1 First Described Year Classification
Type of PhenomenonSocial or Interpersonal Phenomenon 1 Connections
Associated With
Co-originated the effect with Robert Rosenthal.
The founding 1968 classroom study that first demonstrated the effect.
Co-originated the effect with Lenore Jacobson.
In Branch
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Pygmalion Effect
Wikimedia FoundationLead section
The Pygmalion effect is a psychological phenomenon in which high expectations lead to improved performance in a given area.
Rosenthal-Jacobson study section
Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson's study showed that children's performance was enhanced if teachers were led to expect enhanced performance from children.
lead section, phenomenon-kind classification
advancing the idea that teachers' expectations of their students affect the students' performance.
View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.