PYGMALION EFFECT: HISTORY, HOW IT WORKS AND EXAMPLES - ECONOMÍA - 2025

The Pygmalion effect is a well-known phenomenon in psychology whereby external expectations about a person's results are capable of affecting them. Also known by names like "self-fulfilling prophecy" or "Rosenthal effect," it is of great importance in areas such as education or work.

The Pygmalion effect gets its name from the myth of Pygmalion, a sculptor who fell in love with a statue that he himself had sculpted. The modern meaning of this phenomenon comes from a study of the 80s carried out by researchers Rosenthal and Jacobson within the university environment.

Example of a case in which the Pygmalion effect occurs

In the study that led to the Pygmalion effect theory, Rosenthal and Jacobson investigated the influence of a teacher's expectations on the performance of their students. They found that high expectations led to good academic results, while the belief that a student would perform poorly led to this effect.

Although there are some controversies and discussions about this phenomenon and the way it works, the Pygmalion effect is one of the most important in social psychology. Understanding its consequences allows us to better understand what happens in all kinds of situations, from those related to education to those that have to do with serious social problems.

History

The first study to be carried out on a topic similar to the Pygmalion effect was that of Hans the Smart, a horse that lived in the early 20th century and was supposedly capable of reading, spelling and solving mathematical problems using its hooves to answer to what they asked.

Hans answering questions

The psychologists who studied the case of Smart Hans believed that his keepers and those who asked him questions were also responsible for unconsciously providing the horse with the answers. According to these experts, the keepers were so invested in the horse's success that they changed their behavior to help it without realizing it.

Research by Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson

In 1984, Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson wanted to study the way in which external expectations influence a person's results. In their case, they decided to focus their experiment on the educational field, so they carried it out in a California elementary school.

At the beginning of the school year, all students had to complete an intelligence test covertly and without knowing its results. The teachers at the school were also unaware of them, but the researchers pointed out that some of their students (about 20%) were highly capable and probably got excellent grades that year.

In reality, the members of this 20% had been chosen completely at random, so they had no innate differences at the beginning of the course; But at the end of the year it was found that those who belonged to this group had improved their performance and their IQ to a much greater extent than those who did not.

Rosenthal and Jacobson developed the theory that teachers, despite not realizing it, had acted differently with students who believed they had an advantage over the rest. In this way, his expectations had influenced the results of his students, even if there had been no intention of this happening.

How does the Pygmalion effect work?

In the field of psychology, it has been known for several decades that a person's beliefs, expectations and ways of seeing the world have a very significant influence on their behaviors and results. Thus, when an individual believes that he will not be able to do something, he will be blocked and will achieve less success than he could otherwise be.

The Pygmalion effect works in a similar way, with the difference that the expectations that come into play are those of someone outside, usually an individual with authority over the affected person. Thus, the expectations of a parent, a teacher or a boss are capable of modifying our behaviors even when they are not explicitly shown.

Theorists on this subject believe that the Pygmalion effect occurs because the person in authority changes his way of behaving with the subordinate, in such a way that he does not grant him the same resources and opportunities if he believes that he is going to fail than if he thinks otherwise.

In addition, the affected person also internalizes the beliefs of the authority figure, and in many cases ends up causing a self-fulfilling prophecy that leads him to modify his results based on the opinion of the other.

Positive Pygmalion effect

The Pygmalion effect can have very positive effects on the people it influences. The expectations of an authority figure can lead an individual to achieve better results than he would otherwise, as seen in the Rosenthal and Jacobson experiment that first described him.

Thus, for example, a student can improve his grades when one of his teachers believes in him; But this is not the only area in which the Pygmalion effect can show its effects. It can also occur at work, thus improving a worker's performance; or even within personal relationships.

The positive Pygmalion effect is one of the primary weapons educators and leaders have to improve the performance and well-being of the people in their care. Therefore, it is essential to publicize this phenomenon and learn to use it deliberately to improve the lives of others.

Negative Pygmalion effect

However, the Pygmalion effect can also have very damaging consequences in cases where expectations about a person's results are very low. In these cases, those affected can have serious problems in terms of performance, well-being and self-esteem simply because an authority figure does not believe in them.

This negative effect can also be seen most clearly in education. When a student suffers a lot of criticism from his teachers, and hears over and over again that he has no capacity to learn, he tends to internalize this message and his results get worse and worse.

The negative Pygmalion effect can also be seen in all settings where there is a clear authority figure. One of the most damaging is probably that of the couple: when one of the members of the same constantly belittles the other, the affected person tends to internalize the message and suffer increasingly negative consequences in their day-to-day lives.

The Pygmalion effect in education

As we have already seen, the Pygmalion effect was first studied within the educational context, and most of the research that has been conducted on it has taken place within a classroom. This is because this area is one of the areas that most lends itself to the effect of self-fulfilling prophecy due to external expectations.

In the educational context, there is naturally a clear hierarchy between students and teachers. Teachers have authority over their students, and they are also attributed a series of knowledge, experience and abilities that allow them to detect which students will have good results and which will not.

In practice, however, teachers are ordinary people and as such they may suffer mistakes or be carried away by their own prejudices. In this way, many times their expectations of a student do not correspond to reality, but they have the same effect on the students as if they were.

Consequences

The Pygmalion effect can have very negative consequences on students when expectations are very low, and in fact it has been proven that negative messages from teachers can affect a person even during their adult life.

For this reason, it is essential to train educators to avoid sending incorrect negative messages as much as possible.

Relationship with self-fulfilling prophecy

The Pygmalion effect and self-fulfilling prophecy are two very similar psychological phenomena. Both imply the change of results and behavior based on a series of beliefs, with the distinction that in the first they come from an external source and in the second they arise from the person himself.

Some experts believe that the Pygmalion effect is really a type of self-fulfilling prophecy, since the changes in behavior and results would occur when the person internalizes the beliefs coming from the outside. However, there is still no consensus in this regard.

Examples of situations in which the Pygmalion effect occurs

Below we will see several examples of situations in which the Pygmalion effect occurs to make it clear what exactly it consists of.

- A child begins to play basketball fatally because his coach believes that they have no talent for this sport.

- A person who was not performing well at his job improves his results and feels more confident when his new boss encourages him and tells him that he has a natural talent for what he does.

- A man improves his empathy and shows more affection towards his partner when he continuously expresses his love and shows him confidence day after day.

References

1. "The Pygmalion Effect: Proving Them Right" at: Farnam Street. Retrieved on: February 13, 2020 from Farnam Street: fs.blog.
2. "The Pygmalion Effect" at: Duquesne University. Retrieved on: February 13, 2020 from Duquesne University: duq.edu.
3. "Pygmalion Effect: How Expectation Shape Behavior For Better or Worse" in: Medium. Retrieved on: February 13, 2020 from Medium: medium.com.
4. "What Is The 'Pygmalion Effect'?" in: The Personal MBA. Retrieved on: February 13, 2020 from The Personal MBA: personalmba.com.
5. "Pygmalion effect" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: February 13, 2020 from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.