Pygmalion Effect- How to portray your strongest self?

 

People do better when more is expected of them. In education circles, this is called the Pygmalion Effect. It has been demonstrated in study after study, and the results can sometimes be quite significant.

Individuals tend to rise to the level of other people’s expectations of them.

In general, people tend to perform up to the level that others expect them to perform. If you don’t expect much from the people you work with, it’s likely you won’t inspire them to perform to the limits of their capabilities. Let them know you expect great things from them, and more often than not, you’ll find that they perform well.

The Pygmalion Effect is a tendency named after Pygmalion, the protagonist of a Greek myth.

Pygmalion was a gifted sculptor who created a statue of a woman so perfect that he fell in love with his creation. After Pygmalion desperately prayed to Aphrodite, the goddess of love, she took pity on him by bringing the statue to life.

In How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie recommends, “Giving others a great reputation to live up to.” He was a wise man-raise your expectations of others, and they’ll naturally do their best to satisfy those expectations.

The Pygmalion Effect isn’t an excuse to have unrealistic expectations of other people. Even the best builder on Earth couldn’t replicate the pyramids of Egypt in an afternoon, so expecting that level of performance from anyone is a recipe for disappointment and frustration. Expecting quality and performance is one thing-expecting miracles is unrealistic.