Pygmalion Effect: How Do The Beliefs Of Others Affect Our Attitude?
Do the beliefs of others have consequences? Do others see you in a positive or negative way? The Pygmalion Effect makes our attitude be what others say. Find out.
On many occasions we believe that what we think about others or what they say about us has no consequences on our lives, but reality is very different from what we perceive. He Pygmalion effect It is an example of how what they believe or think about us can have consequences on our performance and results. Discover how to use this self-fulfilling prophecy to your advantage to achieve success.
He Pygmalion effect Also known in psychology as the Rosenthal effect, it is associated with the concept of self-fulfilling prophecy, where it is established that a false belief could end up becoming true since it ends up influencing both the beliefs and actions of others.
The reason why the Pygmalion effect ends up having effects on the person who suffers from the influence of these beliefs of others is precisely because when we interact and have expectations of others we tend to give subconscious signals or clues through our own body language and actions. This effect is usually taken into account by child psychologists, due to what it can mean for psychological development during this stage.
Pygmalion Effect: Examples of this self-fulfilling prophecy
One of the most significant examples of the Pygmalion effect was the first research to demonstrate this bias. Was Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobsen who during 1968 carried out an experiment to test whether students could be affected by their teachers’ expectations.
Rosenthal and Jacobsen gave the children an IQ test and then reported their results to the teachers. In this way, they deceived teachers by telling them that certain random students had obtained an IQ that was outstanding compared to the rest.
Through the research, it was possible to see how teachers did not expect too much from average children and paid a lot of attention to those students who they believed were smarter than the rest. But this was not all, after a while the researchers again performed the IQ test on the children. The surprise was that those students who had previously been classified as geniuses increased their abilities. In this way, teachers’ expectations were shown to function as a self-fulfilling prophecy.
He Pygmalion effect Therefore, it demonstrates that the expectations imposed by others are internalized by those who receive them and become part of their own self-concept, acting according to internal beliefs about themselves.
The myth of Pygmalion
The name Pygmalion effect comes from Greek mythology known as Pygmalion myth The story goes that Pygmalion was a sculptor who, taking inspiration from a dream, created an ivory statue of a beautiful woman he saw in it. In the myth of Pygmalion it is said that this work of art was so beautiful that the creator himself ended up falling in love with it. So much so that he was incapable of loving another human being in his life.
Seeing that their love was growing more and more, the sculptor ended up asking Aphrodite, the goddess of love, to give life to the statue, which the author named Galatea. Aphrodite, using her powers granted this wish to her creator. Over the years Pygmalion and Galatea They fell in love and had a daughter Paphos.
He Pygmalion effect It takes its name from this myth since the sculptor ended up making the prophecy he saw in his dream come true, where he imagined himself next to a beautiful and perfect woman.
Characteristics of the Pygmalion Effect
This Pygmalion effect proposed by Robert Rosenthal and his team has a series of characteristics that make it a very interesting concept in psychology. Mainly we can highlight the following effects of ‘Pygmalion syndrome ‘.
Motivation: When others have good expectations of us, this makes our performance and motivation much better. For this reason the Pygmalion effect It has positive consequences on the way we carry out our tasks.
Change self-perception: The moment a person of influence whom we respect or want to impress believes that we will be successful, this can influence the impression we have of ourselves. Therefore the Pygmalion effect It can have consequences on our self-esteem.
Influence on attitude: He Pygmalion or Rosenthal effect It acts as a prophecy since the beliefs of others directly influence our attitude. So much so that if we are expected to reach a certain point, the probability of it happening is much higher.
Stereotypes are harmful: He Pygmalion effect It also affects those people who believe that others do not have high expectations of themselves. In this way, stereotypes or a bad first impression can have worse consequences than we could imagine.
Affects the attitude of others: In addition to acting on us, the Rosenthal effect It also has consequences on the attitude that others have in the person who suffers from it or benefits from it. For example, if the Pygmalion effect occurs in the classroom and a teacher believes that one of his students is more intelligent or will be more successful, it is very possible that he will pay more attention to him and challenge him much more than the others.
These are some of the characteristics with which we could identify the Pygmalion effect These types of self-fulfilling prophecies affect children more since they are in the process of creating their own self-concept based on the opinions of the people around them.
Is there a negative Pygmalion effect?
Although there is less research on the negative effect of this ‘Pygmalion syndrome’ The reality is that there are various studies that show that the opposite also exists. Therefore, when someone has bad expectations of someone this seems to affect the attitude and performance of this person. The opposite of the Pygmalion effect has been called the Golem effect.
How to take advantage of the Pygmalion effect?
Psychology can give us weapons to take advantage of all the resources of the Pygmalion effect. Furthermore, if you think that you have been affected by its consequences, you can always consult with a professional psychologist. You can benefit from it through these tips.
Identify existing beliefs: The first step to obtain influence positive of the Pygmalion effect It is precisely by identifying all those beliefs of others that have affected you or that even today continue to affect or tell you.
Develop a growth mindset: Once you have identified those beliefs that can affect us from different perspectives, you can try to use new ideas that make you grow in certain aspects. Instead of saying ‘I can’t’the next time you encounter a difficulty think ‘if I can’. In this way you will be influenced by Pygmalion effect
Learn for yourself: One of the ways of benefit from the Pygmalion effect It’s trying to learn new skills for yourself. Using the positive beliefs of this effect and its meaning, you can begin to develop different skills more significantly.
Change your expectations of others: Now that you know the power that certain expectations have, you can do good to those around you by trying to enhance the fact that they are really capable of achieving all their successes.
He Pygmalion effect It can make us act in one way or another depending on the expectations that have been generated of us. For this reason our words and actions can be important to those around us. Small actions make a difference.
