We work hard to be healthier, wealthier, or more successful in something we cherish. We do our best but never pass the line of mediocrity. Something on the back of our mind insists that we are not talented enough to be an expert. Those high achievers have something that we don’t. Setting high expectations and big goals seem unreasonable since we are not that good to hit high.
If you ever have thoughts like that, It is not entirely your fault.
The expectations of people around us, especially those who have authority over us, affect our performance. If they take us seriously and hold high expectations for us, we grow high to their standards. If they believe we are mediocre, we stay mediocre.
Setting high expectations (An actual experiment)
A psychologist, Professor Robert Rosenthal, ran an experiment to test the effect of expectation on students’ performance in 1984. In collaboration with Lenore Jacobson, an elementary school’s principal, he ran a fake IQ test on students. The school teachers thought that the test would identify students with extraordinary potentials. But, Rosenthal randomly picked a small group of students and called them “bloomers.” He told the teachers that these students have not demonstrated their intellectual abilities yet and are expected to show incredible improvement this year. Teachers didn’t know the students were picked randomly. They truly believed that “bloomers” have exceptional talents.
The final results were interesting. When they tested the children at the end of the year, those “bloomers” showed an intellectual gain compared to other students.
Since the teachers were holding higher expectations for bloomers, they treated them differently. They gave those children more opportunities, taught them more material, and praised them more positively when they answered a question correctly. On the other hand, the teachers accepted a low-quality response from other students and did not clarify for them what would have been a better response.
Professor Rosenthal concluded that the students reached the expectation of their teachers. This effect is called Pygmalion. Since then, various studies have tested the Pygmalion effect on different groups of people, such as employees of corporations or military trainees. All studies proved that people perform better if the instructors or managers see more potential in them.
Why should we set high expectations for ourselves?
In my 6th grade, I believed I was terrible at physics. My low marks and teacher’s blame made me hate the subject. I clearly remember her saying: “How don’t you understand this easy concept? A 1 lb feather and 1 lb brick will hit the ground simultaneously if we release them from the same height in vacuum.” I don’t want to get into the details of physics. You are not here to hear about Newton’s laws. My point is that these words made me believe that something was wrong with me. I thought I was not talented in physics if I could not understand such an apparently “easy” concept. At exam time, I kept looking at each problem with this doubt: “Is it possible for me to understand this question, or should I go to the next?”
Fast forwarded three years, I happened to have the sweetest physic teachers of all the time. She was very young, fun, and “cool”! I remember that I wished to be better at physics, so she liked me! The good news was she saw me differently. In her eyes, I was a creative and talented teenager who has excellent visualization skills! Oh my! Physics became my most favorite topic! Even, I won our school physics competition the next year.
If I never had the chance to meet my second physics teacher, I would never believe in my talents in physics. Probably I would never choose the engineering field at university.
The expectations of teachers, parents, managers, and all those who have authority over us, affect our performance.
What if we never find that person who thinks highly of us? We might hold to that wrong belief about our abilities.
My physics story was an example of hundred similar situations in life. We have quitted because we worked with the wrong person. So, we should let go of all the doubts. Above all, we could have been those bloomers.
Do we have to accept what others think of us?
How can we get out of these boundaries that others made for us? And how can we turn ourselves into a high-performer, a talented unbeatable self?
The good news is we do not need to wait for someone who believes in us. In a different study, Eden and Ravid showed that the trainees who had higher expectations for themselves scored a higher performance in a military test. They called this effect Galatea.
Setting high expectations for yourself will make you more effective. But, you need to believe in your potentials.
Celebration of small achievements or setting high expectations
Setting high expectations force us to grow higher to reach our goal. But that does not mean we should stop acknowledging our small achievements. Teachers in Rosenthal’s study truly believed their students were exceptional. In Eden and Ravid’s study, the trainees were confident about their abilities.
Some other researchers tried to replicate Resenthal’s study with a small alternation. They told the teachers that they picked bloomers randomly. But, they still asked the teachers to hold higher expectations for this group. The results were not the same as Rosenthal’s. At the end of these studies, the selected students’ performance was not different from the others. Researchers concluded that teachers had to truly believe in their student’s potential to affect their performance.
Similarly, if you want to increase your performance, you need to believe in yourself. To get there, you have to win small achievements so that you can trust your abilities. So, celebrating small wins and setting high goals are not contradicting each other. First, we need to create an identity of an achiever. Then, big dreams become possible.
After a small accomplishment, tell yourself: “it’s great! I know you could do it! I know you were talented. If you try hard enough, you can achieve anything. Let’s move forward”. Then, set your next small steps, but always remember that you are more than this. And one day, you get to your big goal. In conclusion, never settle with small wins.
Last words
Let’s be each other positive leaders. For your partner, friend, or colleagues, play the role of a supportive teacher. If you are a manager, parent, or teacher, you even have more control. Think highly of others, and see that they will do their best to satisfy your expectations.
What was Pygmalion’s effect on your life? have you ever made to believe in specific ways about yourself?
