Dear Reader,
Here is a useful excerpt from a book I recently
read: The
Happiness Advantage – by Shawn Achor, lecturer from Harvard
University.
THE PYGMALION EFFECT**
…one of the most
well-known psychology experiments ever performed.
A team of researchers led
by Robert Rosenthal went into an elementary school and administered
intelligence tests to the students.
The researchers then told
the teachers in each of the classrooms which students – say, Sam, Sally, and
Sarah – the data had identified as academic superstars, the ones with the
greatest potential for growth.
They asked the teachers
not to mention the results of the study to the students, and not to spend any
more or less time with them. (And, in fact, the teachers were warned they
would be observed to make sure they did not.)
At the end of the year,
the students were tested again, and indeed, Sam, Sally, and Sarah posted
off-the-chart intellectual ability. This would be a predictable story, except
for an O. Henry-type twist at the end.
When Sam, Sally, and
Sarah had been tested at the beginning of the experiment, they were found to
be absolutely, wonderfully ordinary. The researchers had randomly picked
their names and then lied to the teachers about their ability. But after the
experiment, they had in fact turned into academic superstars.
So what caused these
ordinary students to become extraordinary? Although the teachers had said
nothing directly to these children and had spent equal amounts of time with
everyone, two crucial things had happened. The belief the teachers had in the
students’ potential had been unwittingly and nonverbally communicated. More
important, these nonverbal messages were then digested by the students and
transformed into reality.
This phenomenon is called
the Pygmalion Effect: when our belief in another person’s potential brings
that potential to life.
Whether we are trying to
uncover the talent in a class of second graders or in the workers sitting
around at the morning meeting, the Pygmalion Effect can happen anywhere. The
expectations we have about our children, co-workers, and spouses – whether or
not they are ever voiced – can make that expectation a reality.
**
Pygmalion was a sculptor who chiselled the women of his dreams out of marble
and called her Galatea. The statue represented every hope, every dream,
every possibility, every meaning—beauty itself. Inevitably, Pygmalion fell in
love. According to the myth, the goddess of love, Venus, granted his wish to
bring her to life.
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May this excerpt inspire you to align your
expectations, thoughts and vibes to the reality you wish to create.
Warm regards
