Piggleton effect

Author: Chen Min
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-07-01
Features: People's performance often aligns with others' expectations. The power of appreciation, trust, praise, and encouragement can inspire individuals to become more excellent, offering profound insights for management, education, family, and personal growth. Some companies' small favors and various allowances and incentives do not qualify as effective appreciation. Effective appreciation is the kind that motivates employees to say, "You make me feel like I've achieved success." —From Appreciation Management by Cindy Wintherles.
The ability to inspire my employees is my greatest asset. The best way to bring out a person's full potential is through praise and encouragement. I have never found any person—no matter how great or esteemed—not to perform better when praised than when criticized. —Charles M. Schwab, President of U.S. Steel, 1968.
In 1968, American psychologists Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson conducted a fascinating experiment. They predicted the academic development of six classes of students in an elementary school and provided the names of students they believed had potential to the school principal and teachers in admiring tones, with strict instructions to keep the list confidential. In reality, the names on the list were randomly selected. However, to everyone's surprise, after eight months, a remarkable miracle occurred: the students on the list showed significant improvements in their studies, became more cheerful and lively, developed a strong curiosity, and formed closer bonds with their teachers.
Why such a significant difference after eight months? This is the phenomenon of resonance in expectation psychology. It turned out that after receiving authoritative predictive cues, the teachers began to treat these students with praise and trust, adopting a warm and gentle attitude. Even when they made mistakes, the teachers did not scold them severely but instead praised their strengths to express their confidence in their ability to improve. In essence, they were playing the role of a Pygmalion. This implicit expectation and praise boosted the students' motivation, making them more self-esteem, self-love, self-confidence, and self-reliant, encouraging them to strive upward, hence the "miracle."
The effect produced by the teachers' praise, trust, and love was named the "Pygmalion Effect." The Pygmalion Effect offers us the following insight: praise, trust, and expectations possess an energy that can change behavior. When a person receives trust and praise from another, they feel supported socially, enhancing their self-worth and becoming more confident, self-respecting, and driven by a positive upward force. They strive to meet the other person's expectations to avoid disappointment, thus maintaining the continuity of social support.
This book reminds every individual who aspires to excel in their workplace, create miracles in family education, navigate interpersonal relationships with ease, and pursue success in their career. When you fully understand the Pygmalion Effect, grasp the true meaning of praising others and appreciating yourself, and apply it to life, harmony and trust will undoubtedly surround you. This book can be considered the best remedy for bridging gaps and resolving conflicts among people in enterprises, organizations, and personal lives. It is also one of the best works on this topic in China.