Needless to say it has been over a month since my last post. Thus, I felt the necessity to make new one.

I am beyond sure I have already touched on "The Pygmalion Effect". Given that is such a fascinating topic. Nonetheless, it can be expanded upon and explored further. In the following, I will tackle the aforesaid. As well as providing real life examples and experiences.

The Pygmalion Effect can be defined by the phrase: "Higher expectations lead to higher performance".    In other words, our beliefs about a person can influence our actions towards them. Hence, altering the person's belief in themselves. Which in turn can lead to them either succeeding or failing in their endeavors. Case in point, a father has the preconceived notion that his older son is naturally more intellectually gifted than his younger one. Even though not only have they the exact same IQ results, but are only a year apart in age. Consequently, the father spends most of his money on his favorite son. He enrolls him in several language learning lessons, music lessons, etc. He has the best tutors in town assist him whenever he is struggling with a subject matter at school. His younger son however, only attends his regular lessons at school and performs at an average level. Obviously the older son is going to feel superior than his brother. Be that is it may, it was the father's unfair intervention what altered their performance. As opposed to their natural talents.

The aforementioned concept can tie in with intrinsic motivation. Which is an empowering tool especially in adults. Most of us are still susceptible to what other people in authority perceive or believe about us. If however, despite our best efforts we fail to live up to their expectations, we must press on. For instance, feedback can only be useful in the teaching profession if educators remain as objective as possible. Notwithstanding, that is not always the case. Because of the preconceived idea a teacher might have of a student, he can draw the wrong conclusions. As a result, the need for us to remain calm and speak out only if we must. Our opinion about ourselves should outweigh any other. Oftentimes, it is ourselves who are our best judges. We can not only notice, but improve on mistakes me make quite efficiently. Only constructive criticism must be taken into account.

In summary, we can all agree that other people's perception of ourselves can ultimately influence our behavior. Only if we let that happen however. As soon as we become emotionally mature in all aspects, we can fight those preconceptions. I could name multiple examples of highly successful people who faced countless rejections. Yet, they had the inner strength to keep going and prove their detractors wrong. The Pygmalion effect parallels the myth it was based on. In Greek mythology, Pygmalion was a prince of Cyprus who was seeking the perfect wife. He made an ivory statue of the perfect woman he envisioned. The prince pleaded with Goddess Venus to bring his creation to life. She granted his wish. Pygmalion married the woman of his dreams. It only worked out in the end because she possessed all the qualities he was expecting for.

Sources:

- Sprouts YouTube Channel.

- Personal experience.

- https://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-pygmalion-effect.htm