Although the Pygmalion effect is subconscious, it demonstrates that others’ expectations can greatly influence our performance. When someone thinks highly of us, we work hard to maintain that reputation.

If someone we respect or want to impress, such as a teacher or employer, believes we will succeed, they can influence our own impression of ourselves. Positive expectations allow us to take the necessary steps to meet those high expectations. We are likely to push ourselves harder because we believe that we can achieve success. Interestingly, this can happen whether or not we’re conscious of the other person’s expectations of us. This is because expectations are often conveyed through non-verbal behaviors like facial expressions and body language.³ In response, we might subtly adjust our behavior without even realizing it, tackling tasks with greater effort and enjoying better overall performance as a result.

Even more powerful, these performance improvements are likely to continue because they are self-reinforcing. As our performance improves in response to someone else’s expectations, our achievements validate their high expectations of us, further confirming their belief in our potential. Their continued confidence in us creates a cycle that sustains our motivation and may lead to long-term improvements in our performance. In fact, some research suggests that the Pygmalion effect can counteract the negative impacts of learned helplessness—a form of avoidance that results from repeated exposure to aversive situations—by improving people’s personal and social skills over time.¹²

In short, the Pygmalion effect acts like a self-fulfilling prophecy because pre-existing beliefs encourage more effortful work, both by the person with expectations and the person who is being expected from. This combined effort increases the likelihood of success.

Although the Pygmalion effect has a positive influence on performance, it depends on the positive expectations of others. That means that individuals who don’t believe that others view them highly may suffer as a result. In this way, the Pygmalion effect exposes that stereotypes may be more damaging than they seem. 

Reinforcing stereotypes

If someone expects us to perform poorly based on our identity, we may actually exhibit worse performance. This is rooted in the stereotype threat, or the fear of confirming a negative stereotype about one’s social group. Unfortunately, stereotype threat undermines the efforts of marginalized groups every day, as people who are worried about conforming to negative stereotypes often end up performing worse. For example, someone who fears aligning with a stereotype that members of their social group are intellectually inferior might resist studying with their peers or asking teachers for help, which makes them more likely to struggle academically.¹³

Even subtle messaging that reminds people of the stereotypes about their social group can undermine people’s performance. In one study, female Asian Americans who were asked to report their gender before completing a math test received worse scores than women who were not.¹⁴ This is because they were forced to confront the expectation that women are worse at math, impairing their performance. On the other hand, priming the women’s racial identity—rather than their gender—improved their math performance, as Asians are stereotyped as possessing superior math skills. This research suggests that drawing attention to the expectations established by stereotypes can significantly impact people’s performance.

Educational inequality

Not only do someone’s expectations impact how we act, but they also impact how they act. For example, if a teacher believes one of their students is really intelligent and will be successful, they may pay them more attention, give them more detailed feedback, and continue to challenge them. They may not treat other students the same, and the unequal consideration causes some students to fall behind while others thrive.

This can contribute to educational inequalities. Consider how teachers might form expectations about student performance based on biases or stereotypes. For instance, one study found that teachers had higher expectations of entire classes when students in the class had higher average socioeconomic status and fewer disabilities.¹⁴ Conversely, teachers in low-income neighborhoods or teaching classes with higher proportions of students with disabilities might have lower expectations of their students, ultimately undermining the potential success of these disadvantaged groups.

Unfortunately, these expectations are often communicated implicitly, making it hard for teachers to recognize and mitigate their biases. For instance, teachers might unintentionally pay closer attention to students they perceive as more capable or show more positive body language to students they expect to be gifted, reinforcing the success of some students while neglecting the needs of students they perceive as less capable.¹⁵

Performance gaps

Since our expectations impact how we treat others, the Pygmalion effect only positively impacts those we hold to high standards. The adverse effects of the reverse can be especially damaging for young children who are malleable and still building their self-concept based on the opinions of others.¹ For instance, children who are told they’re lazy or don’t try hard enough can develop a negative self-concept that sticks with them throughout their development. 

One study on the Pygmalion effect found that teachers’ expectations predicted student math achievement even three semesters later, suggesting that these effects can be persistent and long-lasting.¹⁴ When teachers had high expectations of their students, the students also had higher academic self-concept—meaning they were more likely to believe in their own academic abilities—which predicted their future performance. This effect was even observed on a class level, highlighting the potential of the Pygmalion effect to impact entire groups and perpetuate systemic performance gaps. With this in mind, people in positions of power should be careful to manage and mediate their expectations because this has real consequences for others.

The Pygmalion effect is a psychological phenomenon that describes how expectations can modify behavior. It provides evidence for the self-fulfilling prophecy, which is the idea that others’ beliefs about us become true because they impact how we behave.² The Pygmalion effect specifically describes situations in which superiors’ positive predictions of our performance actually improve our outcome.

This bias occurs because others’ expectations impact both their own behavior and our behavior. If someone believes we are likely to succeed, they will treat us differently to help us achieve those goals. In turn, we try our best to meet those expectations.

Robert Rosenthal, the behavioral psychologist who first examined the Pygmalion effect in 1968, later proposed a four-factor theory as to why it occurs in a classroom context. Rosenthal identified the four factors as climate, input, output, and feedback.²

“Climate” refers to the fact that if a teacher has high expectations for their students, they may create a warm environment reflecting their feelings. “Input” suggests that teachers will give students they believe are intelligent better quality materials. “Output” means that teachers will give those students more opportunities to respond and engage in the classroom. The last factor, “feedback,” denotes that high performing students may receive more detailed feedback from their teachers on how to improve, creating an ongoing cycle.²

The Pygmalion effect demonstrates the power of expectancies in influencing behavior. Understanding how expectations impact the behavior of both ourselves and others can help us better mediate those expectations for the best possible outcomes.

For one, the Pygmalion effect suggests that impressions matter. Having a good reputation with your boss or superior means that they will come to expect a lot from you, encouraging them to give you greater support so that you can best achieve your goals. For example, Rosenthal found that teachers paid the students labeled as “bloomers” more attention and offered them more encouragement.³ With this in mind, positioning yourself as someone with great potential may help you elicit higher expectations from your superiors, shaping your performance. On the other hand, if you suspect people have negative expectations of you, knowing the Pygmalion effect may help you anticipate its influence on your behavior so you can perform at your best.

When we are the ones setting expectations

If we find ourselves in a position where our expectations influence others, we should maintain and express a positive attitude to motivate people to meet those expectations. However, we also need to ensure that we don’t let our expectations of particular individuals overshadow others who may have just as much to offer.

The Pygmalion effect can lead to differential treatment that may not be fair. We should ensure that we are careful not to favor just one or two students or employees. While this may help them succeed, it can leave others feeling unmotivated and discouraged, decreasing overall productivity.

Unlike other biases, the Pygmalion effect is one we may want to welcome instead of avoid. However, we cannot activate it by ourselves, since this bias relies on other people’s expectations of us as a motive to succeed. However, awareness of the Pygmalion effect can ensure we put our best foot forward when we first meet our superiors.

In doing so, we can set high expectations from the start of a school year, project, or job. This strategy will make our superiors more likely to support us, challenge us, and guarantee that we succeed.

Alternatively, if we don’t feel as though our superiors have high expectations of us, we may feel discouraged, which will negatively impact our behavior. Instead, we should try to believe in ourselves as a constant source of motivation. Additionally, we may turn to people in our lives with high regards for us, like our friends and family, and use their beliefs as motivators to prove our employers or teachers wrong.

What is the paradox of the Pygmalion effect?

The paradox of the Pygmalion effect is the idea that while high expectations can drive performance, they can also create disappointment or cause burnout. The problem with high expectations is that they can backfire when they are unrealistic—when reality doesn’t meet our expectations, we often feel disappointed, dissatisfied, and sometimes even depressed.¹⁶ Not only that but when we strive to meet high expectations, we’re also more prone to stress and anxiety. Instead of feeling motivated by high expectations, these expectations can make us feel immense pressure to succeed, resulting in a fear of failure that can be discouraging and often paralyzing. Because of this, expectations meant to encourage us can sometimes have the opposite effect, especially when expectations are unrealistically high or based on flawed assumptions. 

Is the Pygmalion effect good or bad?

The Pygmalion effect is generally considered positive because it suggests that having high expectations of people can lead to better performance. However, it can also have unintended consequences, leading to unequal treatment and creating performance gaps between groups expected to succeed and those expected not to do quite as well. The reverse of the Pygmalion effect—where negative expectations can lead to poor performance—can even discourage effort by those who are perceived as less capable. This negative form of the self-fulfilling prophecy is called the Golem effect after the Golem, a clay creature from Jewish mythology that was initially created to protect but became increasingly corrupt and destructive.¹⁷ 

What is the Pygmalion effect in relationships?

In the context of relationships, the Pygmalion effect suggests that people tend to adjust their behavior to align with what their partner expects of them. This means that what you think about your partner can influence their behavior—and your perception of their behavior—in ways that shape the relationship.¹⁸ For example, if you expect your partner to support you, you’re more likely to perceive their behavior as supportive. People who expect more positive behaviors from their partners also notice more positive behaviors. Research suggests that relationships are more likely to persist when partners hold an idealized image of one another.¹⁹ This effect suggests that having optimistic expectations of your partner can help you turn your relationship ideals into a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The Pygmalion effect got its name from the Greek myth of Pygmalion. Pygmalion was a sculptor who carved a statue of a beautiful woman he later fell in love with. He wished that he could find a woman as beautiful as his sculpture to marry. Aphrodite, the goddess of love, granted his wish and transformed his sculpture into a living, breathing woman. Just as Pygmalion’s fixation on the sculpture allowed it to come to life, our focus on an expectation can impact the outcome in a given situation.³

Inspired by the Greek myth, George Bernard Shaw’s 1912 play Pygmalion explores how someone’s treatment can influence their development and performance.²⁰ In the play, a professor believes that he can transform a poor flower girl into a refined lady simply by changing her speech, ultimately changing how people perceive her and what they expect of her.

The Pygmalion effect is also often called the Rosenthal effect, after the behavioral scientist who first demonstrated the psychological phenomenon in 1968. Along with Lenore Jacobson, an elementary school principal, Rosenthal examined whether teachers’ expectations of their students impacted their academic performance. The researchers anticipated that students would internalize their teacher’s positive expectations and hold onto the belief so much so that they would actually do better in school.⁴

Rosenthal and Jacobson gave students at Jacobson’s elementary school an IQ test at the beginning of the school year. They told the teachers that they were administering the test to predict which students would intellectually bloom over the year. Rosenthal and Jacobson then chose students at random and told their teachers that they had performed exceptionally well on the test, despite their actual results giving no indication that they would be intellectual bloomers.⁵

At the end of the study, students were given the same IQ test. While all students performed better the second time, Rosenthal and Jacobson found that students labeled intellectual bloomers had improved more than the other students. This was especially true in first and second-grade classrooms. From these results, the researchers concluded that a teacher expecting enhanced performance from students can actually cause enhanced performance, especially for young children.⁵

After Rosenthal and Jacobson conducted their original experiment in 1968, many psychologists initially embraced the Pygmalion effect as a legitimate bias. But since then, behavioral researchers have struggled to replicate these results in a classroom setting.^{8, 9, 10, 11} Most studies suffer from the same issue: the effect size is too small, or in other words, the teachers’ positive expectations were only improving students’ performance a small amount—so small it couldn’t statistically be considered proven.

In particular, a critical review by Lee Jussim and Kent Harber in 2005 discovered a strong correlation between teacher expectations and classroom performance.¹¹ However, they suggested that the causation goes the other direction: rather than expectations affecting performance, it is performance that affects expectations. This reversed Pygmalion effect means that a teacher’s attitude towards their students only goes so far in guaranteeing academic achievement. In other words, a teacher’s expectations of students may be accurate rather than self-fulfilling. While several reviews of teacher expectation literature by educational psychologists support this alternative theory, reviews by social psychologists tend to emphasize the inaccuracy of teacher expectations and place greater emphasis on the self-fulfilling prophecy.¹¹ This ongoing debate over the direction of causation in the Pygmalion effect suggests that the impact of expectations on performance likely depends on multiple factors and is more complex than initially assumed.

Another thing worth mentioning is that these studies struggle to control for confounding variables, such as socioeconomic status. For instance, it may be harder for students from disadvantaged backgrounds to be motivated by their teachers to pursue higher education because of other barriers like financial constraints. Meanwhile, students from affluent areas may be more easily motivated, knowing nothing else but their studies in the way of them going to college.

So what do we make of this statistical nightmare? Most still consider the Pygmalion effect as a legitimate bias impacting those in classrooms or workplaces.  While evidence suggests that the Pygmalion effect may not be universal, the magnitude of the effect—at least in an educational context—seems to vary based on factors like the student’s socioeconomic status, gender, and age.²¹ Research reviews point out that some subgroups of students are subject to stronger teacher expectancy effects than others, so it is crucial to consider these variables when exploring the true effect of teacher expectations on students. 

Overall, the debates and controversies over the Pygmalion effect call for more research, especially in comparative and longitudinal studies, to explore the causal influence of teacher expectancies. Researchers also stress the need to look at the mediating processes that influence the effect to better understand the conditions under which high expectations can benefit students.²¹ In the meantime, although recent studies suggest that statistical strength may not be as strong as we once thought, it is still important to consider the impact of our expectations on others, no matter how small they may be.

The Pygmalion effect may also impact how effectively teachers introduce new products into classroom settings. Digital resources can be great for engaging students to learn new information or skills—but only if teachers treat them as such. In other words, the teacher’s expectations for a product might determine how easily their students will utilize that product to enrich their education.

Pretend you’re a third-grade teacher using online software to teach your students how to type. Suppose you eagerly anticipate this technology will help your students learn. In that case, you might schedule more time for your students to practice typing and encourage them to view it as an educational game rather than a daunting task. Noticing your optimism, your students may feel encouraged to put more effort in. Together, you and your students’ high expectations for the software will actually help them improve at typing faster than they would have otherwise.

Of course, we can apply this lesson to any work setting: higher-ups should have a good attitude when introducing products to their employees. This positivity will spread, letting the technology increase engagement and productivity as it was designed to do. However, if higher-ups dismiss digital tools as a waste of time, they may become exactly that. 

Just as when directing humans, having high expectations when directing AI may achieve better outputs. This isn’t because the algorithm interprets our high expectations and works harder to meet them (the technology isn’t quite that advanced yet!). Instead, our willingness to believe in machine learning will encourage us to use it more effectively. For example, when consulting generative AI with a task, we might devote more time and energy to crafting the perfect prompt, guiding the software toward generating the perfect response. Meanwhile, if we dismiss AI as a pointless technology, we may treat it as such, only offering a few words to guide its operations. And unfortunately, the resulting product will be the same quality that we expect. 

The fundamental idea of the Pygmalion effect is that supervisor performance expectations can influence employee performance. But how does this extend to employee creativity? Given that leaders often expect creativity from their employees, do these high expectations actually encourage employees to engage in creative behaviors? Researchers Pamela Tierney and Steven M. Farmer sought to answer this question in a popular study exploring how the Pygmalion effect might foster creativity in a corporate setting.²²

Noting that the Pygmalion effect is often stronger when performance involves challenge or uncertainty—such as with creativity—Tierney and Farmer hypothesized that supervisors’ creativity expectations would be associated with employees’ creative behavior. If this was true, they also wanted to find out how these expectations translated into improved performance by exploring potential mediating variables like supervisor behavior, employee perception of expectations, and employee self-efficacy (belief in their ability to produce creative work). 

The study involved sitting down with 140 employees and 34 supervisors from an R&D unit in a chemical company located in the Midwest. First, the supervisors were asked about their expectations for individual employees by having them rank how often they agree with the statement, “This employee is expected to be innovative at work.” Next, the employees were asked how frequently their supervisors engaged in creativity-supportive behaviors, such as helping them get materials, providing them with rewards for innovative work, and standing up for their out-of-box ideas. The employees were also asked how they felt about their own creative abilities and whether they thought creative work was expected of them. Finally, the supervisors were asked how frequently employees exhibited high levels of creativity, for example, how often they “generated novel, but operable work-related ideas.”

As Tierney and Farmer predicted, supervisors’ expectations of employee creativity were associated with higher levels of employee creativity. They also found that this relationship was facilitated via various mediating effects. For instance, supervisors who had higher creativity expectations also engaged in more creativity-supporting behaviors, which made employees more aware of their expectations. At the same time, employees who thought they were expected to be creative were more likely to believe in their creative potential (indicating higher creative self-efficacy) and, therefore, engaged in more creative behaviors.

The results from this study suggest that supervisor expectations can have a significant impact on employee creativity. Not only do supervisors need to be aware of their expectations, but they must also pay attention to how these expectations shape their actions, as supportive actions are key in communicating their positive expectations and giving employees a greater sense of creative competence.

Most examples and studies about the Pygmalion effect focus on its role in work and school situations. However, Hakan Jenner, a professor of pedagogy with a focus on youth substance abuse, believed it also could impact clinical treatment, as therapists also have expectations about their patients’ success.⁷

As Jenner notes, therapists typically label and diagnose their clients. Therapists may also have to monitor motivation levels to determine whether the treatment program is a good fit for their clients. Drawing from a literature review, Jenner demonstrated that the Pygmalion effect likely influences treatment because therapists often see motivation as the main agent determining whether patients will succeed in treatment.⁷ This means that a therapist’s expectations surrounding motivation might influence how they deliver the treatment as well.

Through his previous work, Jenner found that prior commitment to enrollment in an alcohol addiction program had little impact on whether a patient decided to continue in future programs. Jenner concluded that treatment factors are more influential in treatment success than individual factors. Jenner suggested that climate, one of Rosenthal’s four factors, was the main propagator for the Pygmalion effect in treatment. If clinicians have a positive outlook and cooperate more with their patients because they believe they will succeed, this is indeed more likely to happen.

From his research, Jenner discovered that for the best possible treatment outcomes, therapist expectations and motivation must be high because these will lead to the Pygmalion effect.⁷

What it is

The Pygmalion effect is a psychological phenomenon that describes how others’ positive expectations of us can become a self-fulfilling prophecy, improving our performance.

Why it happens

The Pygmalion effect happens because as social creatures, we are influenced by others’ expectations. If we expect success from someone else, we are likely to give them greater support in order to help them achieve that success. Similarly, if we believe someone has high expectations of us, we will work harder to meet those expectations. Expectations act as a prophecy because they become motivators for hard work.

Example 1 – The Pygmalion effect encourages employee creativity

Research on the Pygmalion effect shows that when supervisors expect their employees to be creative, employees are more likely to exhibit creative behaviors. This occurs because supervisors who have high expectations are more likely to actively and outwardly support their employees’ creative pursuits, indirectly communicating these expectations and increasing employees’ belief in their own creative abilities. This suggests that supervisors who want to encourage employee creativity must be aware of their own expectations and actions.

Example 2 – The Pygmalion effect is important for therapists

While most research surrounding the Pygmalion effect takes place in school or work environments, therapists are also leaders with expectations of their patients. If a therapist believes their patient will succeed in addiction treatment, they are more likely to create a positive and supportive atmosphere, which in turn helps the patient succeed. Since the Pygmalion effect occurs in treatment, therapists should try their best to maintain high expectations of their patients to help them meet their therapeutic goals.

How to activate it

The Pygmalion effect leads to desirable outcomes for those individuals labeled as having high potential. If we are in a leadership position, like teachers, bosses, and therapists are, we should always maintain and express positive expectations to increase our support, as well as how those individuals behave.

High-Potential Employee Programs Can Be Self-Fulfilling Prophecies. Here Are Three Ways Firms Can Avoid This Problem

In this article, behavioral consultants Natasha Ouslis and Zad El-Makkaoui examine the Pygmalion effect in relation to high-potential employee programs. Ouslis and El-Makkaoui discuss that while such programs are usually built with good intentions, employers have to be careful not to ignore some employees because they don’t fit into their preconceived notions of what success looks like.

How Teacher Expectations Shape Students' Experience in the Classroom 

In this article, Melina Moleskis discusses an iconic example of the Pygmalion effect: classroom learning. In particular, she delves into Rosenthal and Jacobson’s original research, and how preexisting stereotypes may cause teachers to favorably treat some students over others. Finally, Moleskis provides a series of steps to remove biases from expectations so that all students have a chance at benefiting from the Pygmalion effect.