The Pygmalion Effectis a psychological phenomenon that describes how people perform according to the expectations placed on them. High expectations typically result in enhanced performance, while low expectations often lead to decreased performance.
The term 'Pygmalion Effect' originally comes from Greek mythology, though it is now widely used in social and organizational psychology. It refers to a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy, where high expectations of a person can lead to improved performance. Conversely, low expectations can lead to decreased performance. An example could be in a coaching scenario, where a coach who believes a player to have lots of potential and expresses this to them, might find the player performs better than another who is consistently told they lack the skills needed to succeed.
"High expectations are the key to everything." - Sam Walton
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