Why do we perform better when someone has high expectations of us?

The Pygmalion Effect

, explained.
Bias

What is the Pygmalion Effect?

The Pygmalion effect describes situations where someone’s high expectations improves our behavior and therefore our performance in a given area. It suggests that we do better when more is expected of us.

Where this bias occurs

Imagine you are beginning a new project at work. Your boss tells you that he’s really excited to see the final product because he knows you’re going to do well.

Since your boss has high expectations for your performance, he might give you more support during the project. Additionally, to meet his expectations, you may change your behavior by spending more hours on the project, working overtime, and double-checking the quality of your work. Since both your boss and you have changed your behavior, the project may end up being more successful than it would originally have been if he hadn’t told you he believed in you. Your boss’ expectations made you work harder which led to improved performance and therefore a better outcome.

When positive expectations positively impact our behavior and our performance, we call it the Pygmalion effect. This phenomenon is most often associated with school or work performance since teachers or bosses often voice their expectations to their students or employees, respectively.

Sources

  1. You Are Mom. (2020, May 1). Negative consequences of the Pygmalion effect on children. https://youaremom.com/children/what-should-you-know/childhood-behavior/pygmalion-effect-2/
  2. Kierein, N. M., & Gold, M. A. (2000). Pygmalion in work organizations: A meta-analysis. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 21(8), 913-928.
  3. Farnam Street. (2019, October 22). The Pygmalion effect: Proving them right. https://fs.blog/2018/05/pygmalion-effect/
  4. Rosenthal, R., & Jacobson, L. (1968). Pygmalion in the classroom. Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
  5. Chang, J. (2011). A case study of the “Pygmalion effect”: Teacher expectations and student achievement. International Education Studies, 4(1), 198-201. https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v4n1p198
  6. Eden, D. (1990). Pygmalion without interpersonal contrast effects: Whole groups gain from raising manager expectations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 75(4), 394-398. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.75.4.394
  7. Jenner, H. (1990). The Pygmalion effect:. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 7(2), 127-133. https://doi.org/10.1300/j020v07n02_09
  8. Raudenbush, S. W. (1984). Magnitude of teacher expectancy effects on pupil IQ as a function of the credibility of expectancy induction: A synthesis of findings from 18 experiments. Journal of Educational Psychology, 76(1), 85–97. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.76.1.85 
  9. Thorndike, R. L. (1986). The role of general ability in prediction. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 29(3), 332–339. https://doi.org/10.1016/0001-8791(86)90012-6
  10. Spitz, H. H. (1999). Beleaguered Pygmalion : A history of the controversy over claims that teacher expectancy raises intelligence. Intelligence, 27(3), 199–234. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0160-2896(99)00026-4
  11. Jussim, L., & Harber, K. D. (2005). Teacher Expectations and Self-Fulfilling Prophecies: Knowns and Unknowns, Resolved and Unresolved Controversies. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 9(2), 131–155. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327957pspr0902_3 
  12. Cobos-Sanchiz, D., Perea-Rodriguez, M. J., Morón-Marchena, J. A., & Muñoz-Díaz, M. C. (2022). Positive Adult Education, Learned Helplessness and the Pygmalion Effect. International journal of environmental research and public health, 19(2), 778. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19020778 
  13. Spencer, S. J., Logel, C., & Davies, P. G. (2016). Stereotype threat. Annual review of psychology, 67(1), 415-437. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-073115-103235 
  14. Szumski, G., & Karwowski, M. (2019). Exploring the Pygmalion effect: The role of teacher expectations, academic self-concept, and class context in students’ math achievement. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 59, 101787. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2019.101787 
  15. Shih, M., Pittinsky, T. L., & Ambady, N. (1999). Stereotype Susceptibility: Identity Salience and Shifts in Quantitative Performance. Psychological Science, 10(1), 80-83. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9280.00111
  16. Chaffin, C. R. (2025, January). The danger of expectations: How they shape our lives. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/putting-psychology-into-practice/202501/the-danger-of-expectations-how-they-shape-our-lives 
  17. Babad, E. Y., Inbar, J., & Rosenthal, R. (1982). Pygmalion, Galatea, and the Golem: Investigations of biased and unbiased teachers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 74(4), 459–474. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.74.4.459 
  18. Joel, S., Maxwell, J. A., Khera, D., Peetz, J., Baucom, B. R. W., & MacDonald, G. (2023). Expect and you shall perceive: People who expect better in turn perceive better behaviors from their romantic partners. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 124(6), 1230–1255. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000411 
  19. Murray, S. L., Holmes, J. G., & Griffin, D. W. (1996). The self-fulfilling nature of positive illusions in romantic relationships: love is not blind, but prescient. Journal of personality and social psychology, 71(6), 1155–1180. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.71.6.1155 
  20. Encyclopaedia Britannica. (n.d.). Pygmalion: Play by Shaw. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pygmalion-play-by-Shaw 
  21. Timmermans, A. C., Rubie-Davies, C. M., & Rjosk, C. (2018). Pygmalion’s 50th anniversary: the state of the art in teacher expectation research. Educational Research and Evaluation, 24(3–5), 91–98. https://doi.org/10.1080/13803611.2018.1548785 
  22. Tierney, P., & Farmer, S. M. (2004). The Pygmalion process and employee creativity. Journal of management, 30(3), 413-432. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jm.2002.12.0 

About the Authors

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Dan Pilat

Dan is a Co-Founder and Managing Director at The Decision Lab. He is a bestselling author of Intention - a book he wrote with Wiley on the mindful application of behavioral science in organizations. Dan has a background in organizational decision making, with a BComm in Decision & Information Systems from McGill University. He has worked on enterprise-level behavioral architecture at TD Securities and BMO Capital Markets, where he advised management on the implementation of systems processing billions of dollars per week. Driven by an appetite for the latest in technology, Dan created a course on business intelligence and lectured at McGill University, and has applied behavioral science to topics such as augmented and virtual reality.

A smiling man stands in an office, wearing a dark blazer and black shirt, with plants and glass-walled rooms in the background.

Dr. Sekoul Krastev

Sekoul is a Co-Founder and Managing Director at The Decision Lab. He is a bestselling author of Intention - a book he wrote with Wiley on the mindful application of behavioral science in organizations. A decision scientist with a PhD in Decision Neuroscience from McGill University, Sekoul's work has been featured in peer-reviewed journals and has been presented at conferences around the world. Sekoul previously advised management on innovation and engagement strategy at The Boston Consulting Group as well as on online media strategy at Google. He has a deep interest in the applications of behavioral science to new technology and has published on these topics in places such as the Huffington Post and Strategy & Business.

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