The expectations we create about other people can influence their performance and success.
Sometimes, the image created of another person is decisive when it comes to pursuing goals. Positive expectations can bring about a change in attitude of the person and, thus, achieve whatever. This is what is known as the Pygmalion effect, but what exactly is it?
What is the Pygmalion effect?
The Pygmalion effect in psychology and pedagogy is known as the influence that one person can exert on another, based on the image that the other person has of him or herThat is, the ideas that other people have about us can influence our performance, since they tend to confirm the veracity of these expectations (low or high) created.
The Pygmalion effect can be identified in the following ways:
- Fact by which a person achieves what he intended because of the belief that I could achieve it.
- “Self-fulfilling prophecy,” fact by which an expectation is confirmed because it incites the person to behave in that way.
- The way teachers value their students influences their behavior.
Origin of the Pygmalion effect
The Pygmalion effect has its origin in a Greek myth based on the story of a sculptor, PygmalionKing of Cyprus. His failure in his relentless search for the perfect woman to marry led him to sculpt stone figures of women who embodied all the perfections.
The beauty of one of the sculptures managed to exceed its own expectations, making it fell madly in love with his own creationwhom he named Galatea. Upon awakening from a dream in which Galatea came to life and they were happy as a couple, Pygmalion met the goddess Aphrodite.
The goddess of love, moved by Pygmalion's love for Galatea, gave life to the sculpture because he considered that he deserved the happiness that he himself had created. This is how his dream came true.
The play of 1913 “Pygmalion” by George Bernard Shaw is the modern version from Greek myth. In this story, lower-class flower girl Eliza Doolittle, with a streetwise accent, is shaped by phonetics teacher Henry Higgins, who perfects her accent and teaches her how to converse in high-society situations.
Eliza's behavior exceeded Higgins' expectations.causing him to fall in love with her. The belief that he could turn the girl into a lady according to his ethical and aesthetic ideas caused the Pygmalion effect when he fell in love with his own creation.
Assessment increases the chance of success
The relationship between a higher assessment and an increased chance of success has been found in classrooms, where The influence that teachers have on their students is decisiveTheir performance and success in many cases is conditioned by the expectations that each teacher places on the student.
It is therefore very important that professionals in this field are aware of the influence they generate. The same applies to parents and their expectations of their children.
If someone believes that we are capable of achieving certain goals, they are contributing to us generating what are known as empowering beliefs, that is, Positive ideas about ourselves that encourage us and allow us to achieve our goals and increase our performance.
If the situation is the opposite: A person does not perceive that they trust in their abilities to achieve what they want, this will have a negative effect on their self-esteem., thus generating beliefs that will have a limiting character. This is what is known as the Negative Pygmalion effect or Golem effect.
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What is the negative Pygmalion effect?
As we have already said, the negative Pygmalion effect or also called Golem effectis one that achieves a harmful result. It is the process by which A person conditions a third party and manages to lower their self-esteemcreating the idea that he is not capable of doing something.
This effect has been widely studied by Rosenthal and Jacobsonwho discovered that in the educational field Teacher expectations influenced student behavioras we have already mentioned, but how?
In their research, Rosenthal and Jacobson observed how teachers They unconsciously classified the studentsthus determining who had a chance of obtaining good results and who did not.
The researchers saw how the teachers' belief that students sitting in the front row would achieve better results than those in the back row came true. This expectation was confirmed, as The student in the back was forgottenwhile that of the The front row was more stimulated and involved with the class.
This is how it was proven that People tend to comply with the prejudices that are held about themWhile the student in the front row enjoyed the Pygmalion effect, the student in the last row suffered the Golem effect.
In short, the Pygmalion effect can generate changes in the person's attitude to achieve what they want. Therefore, it is important to be generators of positive beliefs towards others, as well as towards ourselves. Being aware of the influence we have on others and on our own self-esteem will allow us, and those around us, to achieve everything we want.