The Pygmalion Effect:

When My Teacher Expects Me to Work at McDonald's Forever,

or Become a Surgeon

Zachery Odenthal

Expectations & Adaptations

SEL 107 11

November 22, 2016

 Education is developed knowledge, skills, and characteristics that unlock the

availability of survival and prosperity. With proper edification, students can take

opportunities to thrive upon their own passions. When a child is not sufficiently

educated, future opportunities are limited. Scholars from a wide range of diverse

institutions are affected by these meager teachings. Students are given preferential

treatment that impedes or expands the student’s knowledge resulting in bias. The

resulting outcome of bias in education is the Pygmalion effect. ​The Pygmalion effect is

caused by an educator’s bias formed based on expectancies of student performance,

that influence pupils both positively and negatively, but teachers are able to take agency

over the issue.

Outlook-bias is an educators effort-meter when it comes to the expectancies of

student performance. How a child is expected to achieve determines how a teacher

treats the student. Teachers form these expectations that fuel the way they educate;

they choose to help those who are likely to grow. The other students who are ignored

lose educational opportunities. The bias is formed by presumed information; a

teacher’s expectation of a student’s ability determines how the child will perform.

Outlook-bias is the impetus for the Pygmalion effect based on an educator’s response

to a student’s academic and behavioral characteristics.

An educator's actions taken after observing a child's academic characteristics

forms outlook-bias, or expectations of how the child will achieve. Outlook-bias develops

through what is called the Pygmalion Effect. Robert Rosenthal unraveled these effects
in his educational study. As revealed in an NPR article entitled “Teachers’ Expectations

Can Influence How Students Perform,” “The idea was to figure out what would happen if

teachers were told that certain kids in their class were destined to succeed, so

Rosenthal took a normal IQ test and dressed it up as a different test” (Spiegel). Later,

teachers were given a list of randomly assigned students; the list represented children

who were “more likely to succeed.” The teacher-bias had emerged. The researchers

explained to the teachers that their test would tell them which of the students would

“bloom intellectually.” The teachers were convinced that these randomly chosen

students would have high achievement. In the end, the randomly chosen “bloomers” did

in fact grow as learners, and achieved more than the other students left to the side.

(Chang 198). In reality, the students were not really more likely to achieve. The

educator was merely under the impression that intellectual expectations were higher for

these students because of their falsified label. The Pygmalion effect is a self-fulfilling

prophecy. If a teacher believes a child will accomplish greatness, they will. A student

will perform better or worse based on the expectations/belief of their teacher. The

teacher’s belief builds based on first impressions, regardless of the student’s actual

traits.

A teacher’s response to a child’s behavioral characteristics develop outlook-bias

the second an educator meets a student. The Educational Resources Information

Center challenges teachers to take accountability for their thinking by asking, “In spite of

your best efforts to resist predictions regarding these students and their academic

and/or behavioral future, did you catch yourself forming expectations--even fleetingly? If
your answer is "yes," then the self-fulfilling prophecy probably is set in motion” (Tauber).

It is the first impression. People only see what is on the outside of one another; no one

knows what is happening internally. In occasional instances, students can be labeled as

impudent because they do not greet an educator when they pass by, which causes

negative outlook-bias to fester. In reality, the child may be having a mental breakdown

due to his mother’s cancer spreading. In addition, a student could outwardly appear like

they have their life in order: above average social skills, friendly disposition, etc. and be

a train wreck. All it takes is one simple reaction to twist a state of mind. Outlook-bias

begins the second an educator meets a student. Whether the outcome is positive or

negative does not matter, the trigger is the same.

Based on an educator's response to a student’s academic and behavioral

characteristics, outlook-bias is the impetus for the Pygmalion effect to take place in the

classroom. Teachers can judge what is on the surface, and often do not find the

genuine capability of all students. The resulting effect on the student is not the fault of

the child, but of the teacher’s. Their choices sabotage the learning experience for

students. The impact of outlook-bias has two tracks: The majority of the students are

given an inadequate education due to outlook-bias, while the minority excel. Students

are influenced both positively and negatively in an outlook-bias environment due to

exponential attention given to advanced students, and lack of encouragement given to

the rest of the class.

The favored, advanced students can receive most of the educator’s attention,

which benefits the child tremendously. This is a result of a how a teacher treats the
student due to their expectations of greatness. In Ronald Riggio’s “Pygmalion

Leadership: The Power of Positive Expectations,” he describes a study where teachers

gave additional “positive attention, feedback, and learning opportunities” to students

based on their formed expectations. These educators are able to “nonverbally

communicate” their positive biases which led to stronger student performance. The

educators provided encouraging smiles, nods of approval, increased opportunities, and

gentle voice tones. This approach to educating skyrockets learning. Joanne Yatvin

describes the impact in her article, “Rediscovering the Pygmalion Effect.” The outcome

of teachers giving enhanced positive-attention to identified students was academic

improvements that lasted “over time.” The educators noted improvements in their

academics and behavioral observation. The teacher believes the student will succeed;

they expect the student to thrive, so naturally these students are given enhanced

opportunities. They are ​treated​ like they are intelligent. They are ​treated​ like they are

worthy. Therefore, they ​become ​these characteristics. Outlook-bias taking this positive

route is overwhelmingly valuable. This is only half of the truth though; that is why

outlook-bias is not at all acceptable.

All of the other students are left in the shadows of the “great-minded” ones, and

have little or no encouragement from the teacher. They are not given warm smiles,

encouraging pats on the back, and exponential learning opportunities. They are

unofficially deemed as unworthy of proper education. These students do not learn at all

having teachers with outlook-bias. They will be, at a minimum, a year behind the other

students. Once this downfall is brought to attention, the rest of the flaws, in what is
thought to be the beautiful works of outlook-bias, are revealed. In the NPR article, “If

Your Teacher Likes you, You Might Get a Better Grade,” defects of outlook-bias are

revealed. Teachers often over-extend a student’s ability when they have similar

personalities (Kamenetz). Not only are students not being educated fairly, but those

thought to be getting all the bells and whistles are just as doomed. “If teachers give

students who are similar to them better grades, or even just maintain higher

expectations of those students, what does that do for the students who don't look or act

like their teachers?” (Kamenetz). The bias unfairly holds back these students who are

not “favored” It is the snowball effect! It keeps on rolling, rolling, and rolling down the

hill, until an avalanche happens. So it turns out that most of the class is at a

disadvantage, which completely trivializes a career in the education field, as well as the

purpose of education.

Due to exponential attention given to advanced students, and the lack of

encouragement given to the rest of the class, students are influenced both positively

and negatively in an outlook-bias environment. No one is genuinely gaining knowledge

or opportunities from outlook-bias, not even the educators. It may make the job easier,

so teachers do not have to convey information to those likely to struggle. Resorting to

outlook-bias to make a job easier is not justified. As football coach Vince Lombardi

once said, “The dictionary is the only place success comes before work.” The

overwhelming negativity of outlook-bias has teachers going against their reasons for

becoming an educator in the first place. Educating is more than a job; it is a passion; it

is a lifestyle. Teachers tell kids that history is taught to avoid repetition of the past.
Teachers are supposed to bloom innovative leaders to expand history on a new level,

yet they suffocate hope for the future by repeatedly forming outlook-bias’. All students

are different. Educators are meant to encourage all students. Some argue that student

achievement is not all the educators fault. This statement is not false, but in reality, it is

a teacher’s goal in life to push students past their abilities. Educators must learn to

recognize their bias, and counteract it. Teachers can avoid projecting this outlook-bias

on various students by leveling the playing field, building positive relationships, and

teaching individual minds.

Prevention of negative, and/or overextended expectations begins with educators

leveling the playing field for various students. Not everyone starts at the same place; not

everyone has the same needs. In the article “Equality is Not Enough: What the

Classroom Has Taught Me About Justice,” a suggested method is brought to attention.

“Equality aims to promote fairness, but it can only work if everyone starts from the same

place, and needs the same help. Equity appears unfair, but it actively moves everyone

closer to success by ‘leveling the playing field’” (Sun). Sun brings a cartoon to attention

that shows a teacher shoveling steps in front of a school. With the educator, there are a

few students, one of them is in a wheelchair. The student in the wheel chair asks if the

teacher can shovel the ramp now. The teacher states that he is shoveling the steps for

all the other students waiting first. The student in the wheelchair then replies with saying

that if he shovels the ramp, then all of them can get into the school. As Sun stated,

“Equity appears unfair,” but it benefits all of the students, not just the majority. The

famous educator, Lisa Delpit, gives an example of how to accommodate students in her
book, “Multiplication is for White People.” If teachers make students feel like they

belong, they begin to have a sense that they are “in the club of scholars and achievers.”

The students will be in an atmosphere that gives them the vibe of school being for them.

(20). Give everyone the same opportunities, and help them all excel. One student is not

better than the other. At the moment they may perform better, but it is an educator's job

to get them where they need to be. Promoting equity has to come before equality, but

to get there positive relationships need to be constructed.

Bridging a relationship between students and other students, as well as students

and teachers, combats outlook-bias. Once a person’s story is understood, it is

respected. A bond is created that shapes the path to success. Relationships build

support systems that will not let you fall behind, or stay average. Multiple studies

expressed by the Canadian Education Association explain that when students and

teachers feel that they have “a strong working alliance” within their community, there is

more learning behavior going on. (Toaste). Opposing views counter with manifesting

that not everyone can find common ground to bond over. The simple answer to that is

we are all human. We have that in common. Everyone can connect to others, the key is

to find crossovers between people. A way to achieve this outcome is to implement an

​ n advisory is when a diverse group of students and teachers regularly meet

advisory. A

to build lasting relationships. In “The Advisory Guide,” the intention of the advisory is

spelled out. “The main goals were to build a sense of community, and to get to know

each one of them well enough to support them with academic and life decisions” (Lieber

5). Discussions can be about: people's interests, their goals, fears, personal life, etc.
Implementing this will allow teachers to stop themselves from forming outlook-biases

about students. They will get to know them, and how to educate them in their own way.

The positive relationships can then be built upon by teaching the individual mind.

By teaching the individual minds, educators help each student to grow, and

become a unique scholar. Every student is different. They all come to class with their

own funds of knowledge, and experiences, and that affects the way they learn. It forces

them to either ride the ocean, or take control. Educators are accountable for teaching

students “how to learn right along with what to learn.” There are many styles of learning

and thinking that can change the way an educator teaches. (Newhall xvi). Educators

can find various ways to educate; create activities, use visuals, and have hands-on

opportunities that give students multiple exposures to knowledge. Mary Dean Barringer

of the nonprofit institution: All Kinds of Minds, notes in a Stansbury article that,

“Teachers need to become teaching experts by knowing how to teach every individual,

to see signs of different learning and how to successfully reach that student. Educators

can’t just focus on what students don’t have, they must focus on each student’s assets

and know how to cultivate those assets” (Stansbury). Design work that uses

technology, exploration, book work, art, and music that drives into a student's

personality. Find what they are good at, and use it as an advantage. This is the true

definition of teaching. Educating the whole student, individual, eliminates the projection

of bias.

By leveling the playing fields, building positive relationships, and teaching the

individual minds, teachers can avoid projecting outlook-bias on various students. All
three are meant to build on one another. The key is to realize that every student is

different, and they need a phenomenal educator to propel them. Everyone is unique.

No one will ever know what a student can do, if someone does not take the time to help

them develop their capabilities. In the long-run, it is always worthwhile.

Students are influenced positively and negatively from the Pygmalion effect,

which is caused by an educator’s outlook-bias formed based on expectancies of student

performance, but teachers are able to avoid projecting the bias. Depletion of student

achievement is the end result, regardless of whether or not they are favored or not. The

consequence of the Pygmalion effect hinders students from growing; It hinders the

teachers from being able to achieve equitable instruction. Bestselling author, Veronica

Roth stated, “I think that no matter how smart, people usually see what they're already

looking for” (Roth 109). If an educator expects a child to have a medium-wage job in

their thirties, a teacher will treat them based on that belief; the chance to see what the

student is genuinely capable of is lost. People distort truth to fit their presumption. The

likelihood of change is not based on who the child is, it pertains to how the educator

reacts to who they are.

 Work Cited

Chang, Jie. ​"A Case Study Of The "Pygmalion Effect": Teacher Expectations And
Student Achievement."​ vol. 4, no. 1, International Education Studies, 2011
198-201. ​ERIC​.

Delpit, Lisa. "There Is No Achievement Gap at Birth." ​Multiplication Is For White

People​. 2012, pp. 1-25.

Derman-Sparks, Louise, and Julie Olsen Edwards. "What Is Anti-Bias Education?"

Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves.​ National Association for
the Education of Young Children, 2010, pp. 165.

Kamenetz, Anya. “If Your Teacher Likes You, You Might Get A Better Grade.” ​NPR,​
NPR, 22 Feb. 2015,
http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/02/22/387481854/if-your-teacher-likes-you-y
ou-might-get-a-better-grade​.

Lombardi, Vince, Jr. “Vince Lombardi Jr. Quotes .” ​Goodreads,​ Goodreads Inc,
https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/9771155.vince_lombardi_jr_​.

Miller Lieber, Carol. "Personalize Relationships and Learning in the Classroom."

Making Learning REAL In The Partners in Learning Series: Reaching and
Engaging All Learners in Secondary Classrooms.​ Cambridge, MA, Educators for
Social Responsibility, 2009, pp. 43-55.

---. "What Are Advisory Groups?" ​The Advisory Guide : Designing

and Implementing Effective Advisory Programs in Secondary Schools.​
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Riggio, Ronald. "Pygmalion Leadership: The Power of Positive Expectations."

Psychology Today,​ Sussex Publishers, LLC, 18 Apr. 2009,
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/cutting-edge-leadership/200904/pygmalio
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Roth, Veronica. ​Divergent​, New York, HarperCollins, 2011.

Spiegel, Alix. “Teachers' Expectations Can Influence How Students Perform.” NPR,
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http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2012/09/18/161159263/teachers-expect
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Stansbury, M. “Education is Experiencing a Paradigm Shift, Conferencing Speaks Say”

Learning Replaces Teaching, ​eSchool News, 21 March, 2008.
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Sun, Amy. "Equality Is Not Enough: What the Classroom Has Taught Me About
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