The Pygmalion Effect
The Effects of Positive Expectations on Student Performance
As educators, we commit ourselves to bring the best out of every student. We push them to reach for the stars, to recognize their strengths and talents, to give it their all and to see themselves as future leaders and torchbearers. But, do we convey the same to ALL our students? Some soul-searching might reveal if we even really believe so. When we say “every child can learn”, do we mean it? Do we look for newer ways to motivate students who are left behind or do we glibly promise ourselves and others that we are committed EQUALLY to all?
The Self Fulfilling Prophecy
‘Self Fulfilling Prophecy’, a sociological term coined in 1948 by Merton, refers to “a false definition of a situation evoking a favorable behavior which makes the originally false conception come true” (Merton, 1968). In education, this subscribes to the notion that students perform in the way teachers expect. One could analogize this to the placebo effect, where a person starts experiencing beneficial outcomes by taking a “look-alike” medicine that has no known effects. As teachers, we often give out “subtle, or sometimes not-so-subtle cues to students about their worth, intelligence and capabilities.” Do these affect students’ beliefs about themselves? You bet!
The Rosenthal Experiment
The ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’ came into further public discussion after the classic study conducted by Rosenthal & Jacobson in 1968. Rosenthal’s study administered a non-verbal intelligence test (The Harvard Test of Influences Acquisition) to several students from grades 1 to 6. 20% of these students were selected randomly, and the teachers were informed that these were the ‘intellectual bloomers’ or students with higher intellectual capabilities than others. A year later, teachers reported that these apparent ‘bloomers’ in fact seemed happier, more curious, more intelligent, and in fact, showed more likelihood to success. These students succeeded because the teachers thought they were capable of success. Though the study was the subject of many debates soon after, the undeniable influence of teachers’ expectations on students and how these very expectations improved or impaired student behavior was for all to see.
Rosenthal termed this as the ‘Pygmalion Effect’, drawing on the Greek sculptor who fell in love with his statue, Galatea, brought it to life and married her. Dramatist George Bernard Shaw adapted this notion in his play ‘The Pygmalion’, where Eliza Doolittle a flower-girl is transformed into a duchess. Shaw’s famous lines “…the difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how she is treated,” reveals much about how expectations of others can define one’s behavior.
Examine Your Beliefs and Actions
As we look back on our teaching practice, we need to examine if we have inadvertently been a victim of a confirmation bias. Have we tried to predestine what a student is capable of achieving? Have we tried to box their performance capabilities into pre-determined categories of below average, average, and above average? Do we honestly believe that all children can be successful? Do we use the same metric to compare varied abilities and intelligences, and see the results of one standard test as a measure of success and capacities?
Also, how do our actions convey our beliefs to students? Are we interested in their stories? Do we differentiate learning experiences to suit their aptitudes and abilities? Do we celebrate their successes? Do we collaborate with parents and colleagues and try to provide help for individual improvement?
Transform Expectations into Action
Both our tacit and explicit actions convey the high standards we hold onto for our students. Do we listen more keenly to one than to another? Do our eyes wander away from a student during a conversation? Do we call out to a select few in class? While we may or may not have erred on these counts, there is still a need to give explicit cues to make our expectations clear. Here are 5 ways that worked for me:
- Build an egalitarian classroom based on trust and freedom of choice.
- Celebrate differences and acknowledge students’ diverse capabilities.
- Empower students and provide opportunities for leadership.
- Acknowledge and build on student experiences.
- Invite them to make decisions.
Reflect on your Practice
Reflecting periodically on our classroom environment and practice may provide us gainful insights, ensuring student progress. Let us ask ourselves the following questions:
· Do I make my message of high expectations clear to all or a select few?
. Do I maximize the potential of every student by setting ambitious academic goals for all?
· Do I invest in students and make them believe that achieving the goal is possible for them all?
· Do I reflect often and adequately; and do such reflections speak for all of my students?
Realize your responsibility as an educator
“The role of a teacher remains the highest calling of a free people. To the teacher our nation entrusts her most precious resource, her children, and asks that they be prepared in all their glorious diversity to face the rigors of individual participation in a democratic society…”
- Shirley Hufstedler, Former US Secretary of Education.
Dewey thought of teachers as those who could “change the conception of what constitutes education.” Freire advocates that teachers respect students’ knowledge and see the classroom as an egalitarian society where students and teachers relate to each other democratically. Hill notes how high expectations enable us to bridge achievement gaps and continually improve student performance. These philosophical viewpoints vest great power and responsibility in a teacher’s hands, making it crucial that we step back and reflect on the subtle cues we give our students, and what it says about our expectations from them.
Rosenthal’s study results validate the incredible power of setting high benchmarks from our students. They also underline the phenomenal potential for student success that is lost when we limit our students’ capabilities with our predisposed assumptions. If we could make every student feel that he or she is the reason we teach, we would empower them and make them feel accepted.
To best lead students who doubt their abilities, who speak rarely and who are afraid to take the first step, teachers need to inspire trust, stimulate ambition and support enduringly. Creating a classroom where every student feels worthy and works with a growth mindset would be an ideal to work towards, wouldn’t it?
In the end, as Stone notes, every one of us teachers is our own Pygmalion, spending our lives fashioning ourselves. And in fashioning oneself, for good or ill, one fashions the human race and its future.
References
Bartlett. (n.d.). Paulo Friere and peace education. Graduate School of Education | Teachers College, Columbia University. Retrieved June 2, 2021, from https://www.tc.columbia.edu/epe/epe-entries/Bartlett_ch5_22feb08.pdf
Bell, L. (2007). Creating a culture of high expectations for all students. Education World | Connecting educators to what works. https://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/columnists/bell/bell003.shtml
Ellison, K. (2015). Being honest about the pygmalion effect. sites.tufts.edu — Tufts Self-Serve Blogs and Websites. Retrieved June 2, 2021, from https://sites.tufts.edu/tuftsliteracycorps/files/2017/02/Being-Honest-About-the-Pygmalion-Effect-2015.pdf
Harris, S. (2013). Bravo teacher: Building relationships with actions that value others. Routledge.
Hill, J. (n.d.). The power of high expectations: closing the gap in your classroom. Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 2, 2021, from https://web.archive.org/web/20160413075718/teachingasleadership.org/sites/default/files/Related-Readings/DCA_Ch2_2011.pdf
Merton, R. K. (1968). Social theory and social structure. Google Books. https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Social_Theory_and_Social_Structure/dyqZOcux9o0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=merton,+1968&pg=PR7&printsec=frontcover
Schaedig, D. (2020, August 24). Self-fulfilling prophecy and the Pygmalion effect. Study Guides for Psychology Students — Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/self-fulfilling-prophecy.html
Stone, I. F. (n.d.). Top 37 quotes about Pygmalion: Famous quotes & sayings about Pygmalion. https://quotestats.com/topic/quotes-about-pygmalion/
Talebi. (2015). John Dewey — Philosopher and educational reformer. ERIC — Education Resources Information Center. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED564712.pdf
