Pygmalion effect
As Rosenthal effect, or Pygmalion effect (after the mythological figure Pygmalion ) is in social psychology, the result of an experimenter - subjects ratio referred to, particularly the teacher-student ratio; this effect is called also by the experimenter ( as expected ) or experimenter artifact. The effect according to positive expectations, attitudes, beliefs, and positive stereotypes of the experimenter on the type of impact are " self-fulfilling prophecy ". In the classical experiments of the effect of positive expectations on the performance in intelligence tests was investigated.
The term experimenter artifact is now enshrined in standard scientific literature and language usage.
In psychiatry, psychologist David Rosenhan conducted 1968-1973 to Rosenthal comparable experiments ( Rosenhan experiment).
Example of the effect: If a teacher already an ( anticipated ) positive assessment of the student (such as " the student is gifted " ), then this view is also confirmed in the later stages. This is possible because the teacher 's expectations communicated in subtle ways the students, eg through personal attention, the waiting time for a student response, by frequency and severity of praise or blame or high performance requirements. It is by no means an intentional action, but rather is done unconsciously.
The classic experiment by Rosenthal
1965 studied the American psychologist Robert Rosenthal and Leonore Jacobson teacher-student interactions at two elementary schools. One of the schools was the Oak School, a public elementary school in a medium-sized city. The school was located in a working-class neighborhood and the majority of parents were unskilled or semi-skilled workers. A sixth of the students were of Mexican descent. The school was, although it was a primary school, three spacious. There was a mean, a fast and a slow train. This is not uncommon in public elementary schools in the United States.
The second school was the Crest School. It differed significantly from the Oak School. The pupils of the School Crest for the most part came from the middle and upper middle class. They were, with few exceptions white. Between the two schools there was an IQ difference. While in the Oak School, an average IQ of 98 was measured, an average IQ of 109 was measured in the Crest School. The average IQ of children in the fast train of the Oak School was also 109
The teachers at the schools was the illusion that a scientific test would be carried out with the kids. This test was supposed to identify children that circumstances short of an intellectual development thrust. That is the case in 20 percent of children. In fact, 20 percent of children were selected at random. One difference between the special and the ordinary children thus existed only in the minds of teachers. After a year could be determined that the children were able to increase their IQ much more from the group of " bloomers " (orig. bloomer ) than children from the control group. The effect was particularly strong in children of the first and second class. The largest IQ gains reported on the students of the middle turn of the Oak School. A total of 45 percent of the selected as " bloomers " children were able to increase their IQ by 20 points or more, and 20 percent were able to increase it by as much as 30 or more points. It was interesting that the IQ gains in the children were the most who had a particularly attractive appearance. It was noticeable also that the character of the so-called " bloomers " was evaluated by the teachers positive.
Rosenthal also examined researchers, which supposedly clever and stupid rats were demonstrated. The result was that the actually randomly assigned rats showed strong differences in the expected form. Rosenthal attributed this to greater attention to the supposedly more astute rats.
Attempt to replicate the studies and criticism
Rosenthal's results could be replicated over many years and in many different schools. This resulted in about 40 percent of the repetitions of the experiment with the expected results. If teachers knew the children well ( and had already formed their own prejudices ), the expectation effect reduced.
After Heinz Heckhausen the Rosenthal effect occurs only under the following conditions:
Demarcation similar effects
The Rosenthal effect is distinguishable from similar self-fulfilling prophecies, where the distinction is empirically often not clean (as long as the effects are measurable at all ). If this is not the behavior adaptation in the context of an asymmetrical relationship to a concrete, equipped with special authority caregiver (eg, investigator, supervisor, teacher, doctor ), but in response to general social prejudices, one speaks of Andorra effect.
A special case of the Rosenthal effect, in which the expectations of an authority figure ( boss ) is considered to own increased expectancy of a person of yourself as crucial, mediating factor is called the Galatea effect. With a negative self-fulfilling expectation is commonly known as " Golem effect".
As Hawthorne effect a change in behavior is called, which is attributed solely to the consciousness of a subject to stand in the context of an investigation or experiment under observation, without the experimenter expressly governed concrete, increased performance requirements or other expectations to them.
Newer approaches, which in recent years increasing attention (especially neuro) scientific studies back, lead ( and others) the above Phenomena back to the impact of active ( explicit or implicit ) stereotypes.
Pygmalion Effect by Shaw
Under Pygmalion effect after Shaw is meant when a person of a lower layer for a member of the upper class is held and is treated accordingly. The name goes back to the play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw.
"Look, if you disregard what each one appropriates easy: get dressed, correct pronunciation and so on, then the difference between a lady and a flower girl is certainly not in their behavior, but in how to behave against them. "