Pygmalion Effect
Rosenthal Effect
The phenomenon where higher expectations placed on someone actually lead to improved performance. What you expect of people shapes what they become.
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Origin
Named for the Greek myth of Pygmalion, the effect was demonstrated in a 1965 experiment by psychologists Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson at Spruce Elementary School in California. Teachers were told certain students would be "growth spurters" based on a fictitious test; those randomly designated students subsequently showed greater IQ gains. Rosenthal and Jacobson published Pygmalion in the Classroom in 1968.
Updated February 22, 2026