Self-fulfilling prophecy or the Pygmalion effect. The method for programming yourself and others to be successful

General description of the effect

Have you ever noticed in various areas of life people who did not stand out from the crowd at all, but over time began to show good results (be it excellent studies or constant victories in competitions), and mentors and teachers treat them much better than the rest, even though they, like everyone else, sometimes make mistakes? Or conversely, a person who has decent knowledge and skills is somehow deprived of attention and praise and subsequently starts to make more mistakes and loses the desire to develop. This is what the Pygmalion effect is all about.

The Pygmalion effect (or its other names, the Rosenthal effect, self-fulfilling prophecy) is a psychological phenomenon in which the negative or positive expectations and beliefs of those around a person can significantly influence his behavior. According to the effect, expectations come true, not because the person foresaw them, but because, under external influence, they did everything to make them come true. A person who is convinced of something or passionately desires something unconsciously adjusts events to achieve the desired outcome and encourages those around them and themselves to behave in ways that confirm the expectations [4, p. 1; 8; 12, p. 1].

Mechanism of action

To scrutinise this effect, firstly we need to understand it's mechanism of work. The process begins when a leader, teacher, or parent forms an expectation about another person's potential. This expectation influences how they behave. For example, the leader might smile more, make more eye contact, give more interesting tasks, be more patient, and give more praise. The other person notices this behavior and responds unconsciously. They feel trusted, which increases their confidence and motivation. Because they feel trusted, their efforts improve. The improved efforts lead to better results. The leader sees these results and confirms their original belief. This creates a continuous cycle of positive reinforcement [4, p. 3].

Objects of research

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This effect is actively scrutinized now, therefore, it can affect anyone, as it occurs in various aspects of life [4]:

1. In educational and professional environments, the expectations of mentors can shape employees' learning motivation, attitude towards tasks, and final results. For example, if a person is told that a new group member is unfriendly, they begin to behave more reservedly towards him. Subsequently, the new groupmember, in response to such behavior, does not initiate conversations or actions, thereby confirming the opinion and expectations of their unfriendliness.
2. In educational, for instance, the Pygmalion effect was first scientifically described in the 1960s by Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson in the study "Pygmalion in the Classroom" [6, 16-20; 12, p. 1-2] The researchers proved that if a teacher is led to believe that certain students have high potential (even if this is not true), then over time these children indeed start to show better results. This happened because teachers were biased towards these students, inspiring them to study and providing more room for creativity. They expected high results from them and unconsciously pushed them towards more effective learning, while devaluing the abilities of other children, giving them less encouragement because they thought they couldn't manage it.
3. Recently, this effect has also been actively used in medicine. During the coronavirus pandemic, doctors used it to help patients recover faster and recover from the illness. They would tell people that they were getting better and encouraged them in every way. Subsequently, people really did recover faster compared to those who did not receive such psychological support from doctors [12; 15, 513-522].

Problem statement and negative consequences of the effect

The Pygmalion effect has a huge number of positive influences on people. It would seem that knowledge of this effect should help us create a more favorable environment for growth and development. However, despite numerous studies, unresolved issues related to its application still exist in the modern world. Here are a few emerging shortcomings:

1. Strengthening Social Inequality and Bias: stereotypes lead to discrimination. The most acute problem is that the Pygmalion effect often operates in conditions of already existing inequality. If we initially have biased expectations regarding certain groups of people (for example, based on racial, gender, or socio-economic criteria). These expectations can lead to discrimination and limitation of opportunities. Example: A teacher, subconsciously expecting lower achievements from students from low-income families, may unwittingly give them less attention, assign less challenging tasks, and praise them less frequently. As a result, these students may indeed show lower performance, confirming the initial, but erroneous, expectation [1, p. 131-135; 3, p. 573-591; 5, p. 176-179; 9; 11].
2. The Difficulty of Recognizing and Controlling One's Own Expectations: our expectations are often formed based on unconscious stereotypes and prejudices. Recognizing them and consciously changing them is not an easy task. We may sincerely believe that we treat everyone equally, but our subconscious attitudes can dictate different behavior. For example, a leader may consider themselves fair, but at the same time, they may unconsciously favor employees who are similar to them in character or interests, which affects their career growth [1, p. 131-135; 3, p. 573-591; 5, p. 176-179; 9; 11].
3. The risk of 'negative Pygmalion': a sharp problem of the effect is its reverse action, when the incorrect or imposed belief of one person can cause another to act in a way that manifests the expected, incorrect, and sometimes even uncharacteristic behavior for the person involved. This practice leads to a deterioration of reputation, relationships, and even difficulties in communication and finding new responsibilities. This is especially dangerous in raising children and working with individuals who are already facing challenges. For example, parents who constantly criticize their child for mistakes may instill in them a fear of failure and a reluctance to try new things [1, p. 131-135; 3, p. 573-591; 5, p. 176-179; 9; 12].
4. Underestimated expectations limit a person's potential: for example, a person with low self-esteem inevitably prepares for failure and behaves as if it cannot be avoided: they do not put enough effort into their work, they drop out of school. This leads to the expected outcome. Low expectations from management (teachers, mentors) reduce the motivation and productivity of subordinates or students. A pessimistic view of subordinates' abilities can lead to a lack of trust and support, and consequently to a decrease in life goals!!! As a result, a person starts to think that they are not capable of more. For example, if a teacher considers a student incapable, the student may indeed show poor results. However, it is worth noting that other people's opinions about a person are not always accurate. For instance, when a person makes a mistake on their first day at work due to strong stress, people often tend to think of them as careless, even though this may not be true at all. However, the attitude and perception of this person's capabilities and advantages will no longer be taken seriously [1, p. 131-135; 3, p. 573-591; 5, p. 176-179; 9; 10].
5. Overinflated expectations create stress: for example, if a person believes that an intended task will succeed, they will make every effort to achieve the desired result. Therefore, it is very important to assess one's abilities and not take on super-tasks that are impossible to handle, such as mastering English perfectly from scratch in a month. Overexertion will only lead to a loss of strength and desire, as well as a decrease in self-esteem, anxiety, and burnout, especially if a person feels unsupported [1, p. 131-135; 3, p. 573-591; 5, p. 176-179; 9; 12].

Ways to address problems and minimize negative consequences of the effect [1, p. 131-135; 6, p. 16-20; 8; 11; 12]

1. Conscious formation of expectations. It is necessary to regularly analyze and adjust your own expectations, avoiding biases and stereotypes.

2. Setting realistic and achievable goals. Expectations should be adequate to a person's capabilities, in order to avoid creating undue pressure.

3. Focusing on support and development, not just on results It is important to create conditions for growth and learning, where mistakes are perceived as part of the process:

• Raising and educating Teachers, parents, or mentors need to believe in the potential of the child or student. Their positive expectations will help the child believe in themselves and improve their results.
• Personnel management It is beneficial for a leader to demonstrate trust and high expectations towards employees. This motivates them to work better and show initiative.
• Self-development Apply the Rosenthal effect to yourself – believe that you are capable of achieving success, and set high but attainable goals. Your mindset will guide you towards better results.
• Interpersonal relationships In relationships with your loved ones, show support and belief in their abilities – this helps strengthen trust and the partner's personal development.
• Teamwork Create an atmosphere of positive expectations and support within the team – this will improve overall motivation and productivity.

4. Development of emotional literacy Learning to manage stress and develop resilience will help cope with the pressure of high expectations.

5. Encouraging internal motivation Supporting autonomy and freedom of choice fosters the formation of sustainable and independent motivation.

Advantages of the Pygmalion effect. Application in the spheres of societal life:

1. Increased motivation and achievement Positive expectations stimulate a person to exert more effort, leading to improved results.
2. The development of self-esteem and confidence The belief of significant people in an individual's abilities strengthens their confidence and self-esteem, positively influencing personal growth.
3. Formation of a positive environment In teams where high, yet realistic expectations are supported, an atmosphere of mutual trust and support is created.
4. Uncovering potential The Pygmalion effect helps to reveal hidden abilities and talents that may have gone unnoticed. Thus, the conscious use of the Rosenthal effect helps to create a positive mindset, increase motivation, and achieve better results for both oneself and those around them [1, p. 131-135; 5, p. 176-179].

Personal experience

This effect is often encountered in everyday life. Everyone has certainly heard phrases like: 'You're a girl!' and 'That's girly!' It implies that people who belong to a certain gender or other characteristics are expected by society to act in a certain way. And more often than not, people actually start to conform to these majority opinions and consider it normal to act in a certain way, even if it differs from their initial expectations. Additionally to this, I experienced effect in high school. In the beginning of 10th grade, when we got a new teacher, we took a test. Of course, after the summer break, the kids forgot a lot, and not everyone showed their best results. Although there were some who managed to cheat. As a result, those who sat close to the teacher and couldn't remember some of the material received low grades, while those who didn't recall the material but could cheat received high grades. For the next two years, the teacher showed clear bias against the students who received poor grades on that test: he constantly nitpicked even the smallest details in their answers, sometimes not even letting them finish their thoughts, as he believed these students couldn't know the material. Meanwhile, he treated those who scored higher on the first test significantly better: he forgave them considerable mistakes, helped them during answers and tests, and didn't give low grades for uncompleted homework. Thus, he influenced an entire class and a group of people who received poor grades in his lessons due to biased treatment, lost the desire to attend classes, and lost interest in the subject, as well as experienced stress during lessons, which resulted in them studying and showing worse results. Such a situation only heated the atmosphere in the class, causing many students to have a worse attitude towards this teacher and each other, as everyone felt the injustice. This shows how a teacher's initial impression of his students influenced his perception of their abilities and led to numerous undesirable consequences.

Experiment

I conducted an experiment with the pigment effect at school. I asked a teacher from one of my subjects to help me with this. As a homework assignment for one of the classes, she gave us two reports. I kept one for myself to conduct the experiment, and the other was given to a random student in the class. During the next class, the teacher asked a student who was unaware of the experiment. Despite the student's good answer, the teacher's task was to highlight and even exaggerate the negative aspects of the report, pointing out its flaws, lack of preparation, and suggesting improvements. After that, I took the floor. My task was to deliberately present a report that was not at the highest level. There were a few miscommunications, and the presentation itself was quite short and superficial. However, the teacher's objective was to highlight the positive aspects of the report, emphasizing that brevity, despite the established guidelines for length, had positive consequences in my case. After each response and the teacher's comments, the teacher turned to the class and asked for their feedback on the presentations. As expected, after the teacher's assessment of the first student's presentation, the other students and even the presenter themselves began to focus on the negative aspects. However, after my presentation, the students also began to perceive the mistakes as less significant and to highlight the positive aspects. In the second stage of the experiment, the teacher addressed the first student and emphasized that his presentation was not successful. The teacher also mentioned that the student had struggled with previous similar assignments, which was not true, and suggested that the student may not be skilled in presenting presentations. Despite this, he suggests that the student correct the situation and take another report for the next class. However, the student emphasizes that others will do a better report and receive high grades, and he will not be able to find the necessary information because he does not know how to do it. Ultimately, the student refuses to take the report and asks for other options to improve his grade. This experiment perfectly demonstrated the effect of the pigment effect, where the teacher's belief influenced the children's beliefs and caused them to perceive the situation and the person differently. As a result, their overall reaction and attitude influenced their responses and perceptions of the student's abilities in writing reports. The teacher and classmates highlighted the student's weaknesses and inability to excel in such tasks, leading the student to doubt their abilities and eventually give up on writing reports. As a result, his attitude changed not only towards this type of activity, but also towards himself, and his self-esteem deteriorated. This is how the effect of pigmentation affects people in real life. In the experiment, the student thought in advance that the next time he would not be able to make a report at the appropriate level. He had unconsciously prepared himself for this outcome, and by the end of the evaluation, he felt less confident and comfortable. Additionally, by the end of the experiment, the student began to doubt his answers and became more anxious, leading to a decrease in his self-esteem and confidence. The experiment showed how external influences can cause a person to change their perception of the situation and themselves, and adapt to it, unconsciously aligning their actions with the desired outcome.

Conclusion

The self-fulfilling prophecy effect is actually worth its name, as it is a powerful and effective way to help yourself and others reach their full potential.This is a good way to set your mindset, which can literally help to program yourself or others for success and serve a greater good. Therefore, it is extremely important to raise people's awareness of this effect, as it can lead to rapid personal and social growth, both for individuals and for society as a whole. All we need to do is support and encourage others, set them up for the results we want, even when they think they can't manage it, because external influences have a significant impact on a person's perception of the situation and themselves. This method can be applied in various aspects of life, and it can be particularly beneficial in education, as it helps people overcome their fears and embrace new challenges. Additionally, this method can be used in the medical field to encourage patients to recover more easily. It is very important to consciously apply this effect in order to ensure faster growth of individuals and increase self-esteem and proper interaction between people in society as a whole. In a global sense, the dissemination and proper use of the effect will lead to an increase in the number of qualified specialists in various fields around the world, a friendlier stance and relationships among people, the development of science, and it will help individuals better understand themselves and their desires, thereby increasing self-esteem and overall well-being.