The Pygmalion Effect: How Expectations Shape Your Behaviour

Have you ever made a prediction about your performance for an upcoming test or a presentation that came true?

Sometimes you might think of it as another turn of events that had nothing to do with your estimation of your abilities. However, more often than not, it’s exactly your expectations that influenced your behavior at the subconscious level. This is what we call a Pygmalion effect or what we also call ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’.

Imagine a classroom full of students, each with different learning capabilities, thriving at their own pace. Some are labeled as ‘quick learners’ whereas the others are labeled as ‘late bloomers’. Who do you believe is probably going to do well in the future?

The Pygmalion effect is also known as the Rosenthal Experiment named after its researcher, Robert Rosenthal- who carried out research at Harvard. He was the first researcher to test the Pygmalion effect on a group of students, who were required to take an IQ test. After the test, some of them were selected randomly as ‘academic bloomers’.

Next, Rosenthal observed the interactions between teachers and the selected students. He observed extra attention being paid to those students, thus, he decided to take the IQ test again to see their improvements compared to the rest of the students. Consequently, it was noted that the students who were labeled as ‘academic bloomers’ ended up improving way more than the controlled group.

Pygmalion effect is a cycle that can morph your attitude from your home-life to your workplace to anything in between.

The cycle works in an intriguing way, where our present actions determine our future actions. For example, if you arrive for an interview past the said timing (your action), your interviewer is likely to consider you as an irresponsible person (others’ belief). This will potentially prompt your rejection (others’ action). This action of the interviewer might lead you to believe that you are not competent enough for the job (your belief). This will cause you to strive even lesser in the future (your action). Ultimately, influencing your rate of productivity.

Pygmalion or Rosenthal effect not only dominate your daily activities, but it also put you under the crushing weight of self-loathing and depression. You tend to find yourself nit-picking all your flaws, viewing them under a magnifying glass. Depression is insidious due to such effects and the only way to pull through it is by getting positive reinforcement - not just by your counterparts but also from yourself.

Beyond everything, we are what we think we are.