Pygmalion effect
Also known as: Rosenthal effect, Teacher-expectancy effect
Higher expectations from others lift performance; lower ones depress it.
What it means
A specific self-fulfilling prophecy in which the expectations a leader, teacher, or supervisor holds about a person become a cause of that person's performance, with high expectations boosting it and low expectations (the Golem effect) lowering it. The mechanism runs through subtle changes in the expecter's behavior: warmer emotional climate, more challenging input, more and better feedback, and more opportunities to respond. These differential treatments communicate confidence and provide resources that improve outcomes, closing the loop on the original expectation. The effect is robust in field settings such as classrooms and the military, though its magnitude varies. It carries direct lessons for management, education, and any relationship in which one party's beliefs shape another's development.
Examples
Military instructors told some trainees had high potential — though the trainees were chosen at random — and those trainees subsequently outperformed their peers.
A manager convinced a new hire is a star gives her the tricky client, drops by with feedback, and covers her early stumbles — attention that turns the prediction into a track record.
A coach who has quietly written off a slower swimmer corrects her less and leaves her in the far lane; her times stall, confirming the judgment that produced them.
First described in Rosenthal & Jacobson (1968); Eden (military studies).