Imagine the feeling of being able to sit above the fray of human emotion, and simply observe the currents of unconscious forces directing the lives of everyone around you.
Today we’re going to discuss an experiment done by Rosenthal and Jacobson back in the 60’s. They informed school teachers that roughly 20% of their students had shown an exceptional potential in testing, and were expected to outperform their peers in the coming months. The idea behind this was to determine what kind of impact a teachers expectations could have on a students progress. It turns out that this impact is significant, and the experiment has been repeated across various age ranges and environments. In the same way that a grade school teachers expectations shape the path of a young student, so too does this effect take place in the adult world. This phenomenon has been termed the “pygmalion effect,” and it has wide reaching implications that any psychology hacker should be aware of. Let’s take a look at how we can use the results of this experiment in our daily lives.
The expectations you set for yourself and others can make or break you. There is a reason that double blind experiments are so important in medical testing. The placebo effect is a force of nature that experts are often unable to duplicate. When I hear people talk about the positive implications of a drug beating the placebo I am always confused. If the placebo is so powerful, why are we not instead looking to better understand how to utilize it?
The pygmalion effect is a perfect example of the incredible force of human psychology. By being told that certain students had more potential, a self-fulfilling prophecy was created. The teachers interacted with these differently. They spent more time with them. They encouraged them more and likely exercised far greater patience. It is impossible to say how much of the effect comes from the subtle body language cues that the students picked up on, but this surely had a significant influence as well. People can sense when others hold them in high regard or in contempt. Through the power of repetition, people will begin to produce results that match the expectations of those in authority.
The power of authority is something that is only studied by a select few. Most people wish to believe that they are fully autonomous beings, who differ to authority merely out of practical necessity. The reality is that authority figures have a deep psychological impact on us. If you want to be deeply disturbed, look into how false memories can be implanted by police officers during an interrogation. You may remember the episode on pluralistic ignorance; this effect essentially describes the herd mentality that we all fall into. Experiments done into pluralistic ignorance demonstrate that someone having a heart attack on a busy sidewalk will most likely be ignored.
The reason?
Few people know what to do! It is an unusual situation and the majority of people are not trained to respond appropriately. Not knowing what to do, they look to the rest of the crowd for answers. The misfortune for our butter loving chainsmoker is that everyone present is looking to each other for guidance. With no one taking action it is assumed that everything is normal and this guy must be ok. However if someone does step up and take charge, everyone who is unsure of what to do will more than likely follow suit and assist as well. It is quite easy to become a leader if you can simply develop the ability to act decisively for this very reason. If someone has doubt and is unsure of appropriate next steps they will automatically differ to any perceived authority. Expertise in a given area can provide the self confidence to resist the pull of authority, but even those who distain being governed react unconsciously.
Teachers are clearly authority figures who will command a response from those in their care. They have the power of repetition on their side, and the Rosenthal and Jacobson experiment shows what an impact their perception can have on reality. Like I said before, they are only one half of the coin. Their actions influence the students, and the students also react unconsciously to these actions. It is a constant give and take but what is truly fascinating is that this all happens below the level of conscious awareness of both parties. I believe that this is one reason many people become interested in psychology. Imagine the feeling of being able to sit above the fray of human emotion, and simply observe the currents of unconscious forces directing the lives of everyone around you. That is the point of this series. To educate you enough to see life for what it is. A game, ruled by irrationality, emotion, and biology.
How do we hack this? You may ask.
Well to begin, with I want to point out how important it is to eliminate negative influences from your environment. Having anyone around who holds you to low standards can be devastating. Not only are they not building you up, but the two of you may be involved in an unconscious circle of toxic behaviors. Cutting out those who have a negative power over you can be difficult, but it is a necessity if you want to get anywhere in life.
Begin by identifying all those who think less than the best of you. Most friends will not intentionally sabotage your progress, but well intentioned “safe” advice has been the stumbling block of many would-be success story. Treat the advice of anyone telling you to play it safe the same way you would someone intentionally trying to stunt your growth. The opinion of someone who perceives you as someone with low potential can very well become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Clear out the garbage. Cut down on the clutter of other peoples opinions and you may be surprised at how much better you feel emotionally. Remember, the teachers were unaware of the unconscious effect their actions had on the students. Likewise, people in general aren’t all that aware of how they impact one another.
Expectations establish the foundation for reality.
The brain has a way of providing evidence for whatever it believes. When we believe someone has a lot of potential we are more likely to give them more energy. Instead of assuming they are incompetent, we give them the benefit of the doubt when they make mistakes, and are likely much more patient with them. In much the same way, if we truly believe we are capable of accomplishing a great deal we are less likely to give up after just a few failures or set backs. We’ll start trying harder and for longer. We’ll stop giving up at each set back because of our belief in ourselves.
If you know you hold the potential to create a self-fulfilling prophecy, then the intelligent thing to do is to create the best one possible. Why would you ever choose to create a negative future for yourself?
Maybe because you
Have low self-esteem
Have little evidence of past success
Are surrounded by people who set the bar too low
Are locked too deeply into your emotions
Remember that the brain is a meaning making machine. It is designed to keep you alive and well in this world. It will attempt to explain everything it comes across and ignore whatever does not fit into its current understanding of reality. This means that the brain is judging what happens every step of the way. If you make a mistake, your programming will dictate to you what that mistake means…
A catastrophic failure; Proof that you are incompetent and doomed to the bottom of the barrel
OR
A learning opportunity that provides a chance for growth, reflection, and improvement.
We mostly get stuck with the programming we happen to pick up in childhood. This is because children tend to learn extremely quickly, however they do not yet have the proper discernment to decide whether or not a particular interpretation of events is useful.
As adults it’s time to take charge of our programming, which is what my content is designed to help you do.
Moving forward, start paying attention to how others perceive you. If it’s negative, you need to start cutting them out. If that isn’t an option then begin mitigating any harmful effects they may have on you, whether intentional or otherwise. This can be difficult but it will likely be even more difficult to make the changes on a fundamental level of your own perception.
Stop setting the bar so low for yourself.
Stop expecting the worst results.
Stop getting impatient with yourself when you run into setbacks.
Last but not least; Stop giving up on yourself! You deserve better.
You would be shocked if you got a sneak peek into your true potential. If you could even begin to understand the power that you hold in your mind it would amaze you. Oftentimes people look at what they can do right now as an indication of what they could do in the long run. That’s simply a faulty paradigm because right now you doesn’t have the experience and skills that future you could have, if you commit to growth and improvement.
Your past does not equal your future, unless you decide to stay stuck on the merry-go-round. Changing your daily habits is how you change your future. The big changes all come from countless small decisions that add up over time, and you’ll never know the enormous weight of those small choices until you give the compound effect time to kick in.
The impact that these school teachers had on their students didn’t happen overnight. They didn’t make a few big choices to give more time and energy to the “promising” students than the “average” or “bad.” There wasn’t one defining moment where those kids suddenly realized that they were being categorized into different classes. It was the accumulative effect of actions and behaviors that were likely subtle enough to go unnoticed by the rational mind of the students. The real world consequences however, were quite tangible. It’s impossible to say how much of it was the students responding unconsciously to the teachers nonverbal behavior, and how much was the preferential treatment the teachers bestowed on those they considered to be more worthwhile. Either way it is clear that a self-fulfilling prophecy was created in these classrooms. Whether we like to admit it or not this prophecy is playing out every single day, in every aspect of our lives.
Knowing this we must choose to carefully protect ourselves from the opinions of others. Ruthlessly evaluate the treatment you receive from others and the subtle reactions you have to it. Begin reclaiming your power by taking concrete steps towards freeing yourself from outside influences to the best of your ability. You will not be totally successful, but over time you will become much more proficient. As your independence increases, so will your ability to stand strong in a world of your own creation.
Best of luck
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