The Pygmalion Effect: The Beneficial Power of the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

My last post focused on the potentially devastating effects of labeling, in which a student suffers from the low or negative expectations of parents or teachers.  The flip side of that too common phenomenon might be called “positive labeling,” the happy result of which is kids growing into positive, successful behaviors or roles based on expectations projected onto them by loving adults.

Educational psychologists call this dynamic the “Pygmalion effect.”  Studies by Jere Brophy and others suggest that students for whom teachers have higher expectations of success perform better.  This tendency for “the better students” to perform better seems to hold true even when the status of “better student” had been assigned at random by researchers.  In other words, all other factors being equal, the belief of an adult that a kid is going to be successful is an independent predictor of that child’s chances of success.  

The implications for this are huge:  If you want to help children succeed, let them know that you know they’re going to do just that. 

But what about those times when you aren’t sure?  I say, why not risk seeing the glass half full?  A marvelously gifted Cleveland area pediatrician I know makes it virtually a policy, when examining a very young child, to tell the child’s parents that their kid is very limber and is likely to be athletic.  If it increases the chances that Mom and Dad stop to buy a soccer ball on the way home from the well visit or make a priority of spending time at the local playground early on in the child’s life, what’s the downside of making this positive prediction? 

Stimulating a self-fulfilling prophecy is so easy it’s almost scarily powerful.  A team that’s greeted at the first practice by a coach who says “I see a lot of talent on this team, and I can see it your eyes that you are winners” is a team that’s on its way to becoming winners.  An English teacher who informs her class on the first day of school that “I’ve heard that this class is full of good close readers, and I’ve been looking forward all summer to hearing your thoughts on our summer reading” is likely headed into a rich, engaged discussion of the book at hand.

Projecting success onto students lets them know that someone believes in them, which makes it a lot easier for them to believe in themselves, and when it comes to academic success, that’s half the battle.

I look forward to hearing from parents and teachers who have had success with this strategy.

Have a great day!

Tim