Does Belief in Others Create Productivity?

Can our belief in someone affect their work?

Does our expectation of and belief in someone affect performance? Is it possible to create a more positive outcome with kids in a classroom or employees or even our own children by believing that they can do it? The answer is yes.

This is called the Pygmalion Effect. When our expectation, voiced or not can become reality. There was a notable study led by Robert Rosenthal in an elementary school. They set it up so that the teachers were told that random students were much smarter then the rest of the class.

They were told not to do anything special with those students in or outside of class regarding those kids. The teachers were warned that they would be observed.

The “chosen” kids were shown to be very ordinary when they were tested before the experiment. After the experiment was over, their testing showed them to be vastly improved.

Somehow the teachers had communicated without words messages to these few kids that made them excel. The teacher’s belief that they were special had literally made them more exceptional, turning it into a reality. This can happen in a work place, at home with your kids or with your spouse or friends.

Imagine how powerful this is for creating a team of super powered productive people? In fact, one other study shows that workers would rather be appreciated than paid more money. When you can create an atmosphere in the office where everyone appreciates each other’s contribution and ideas, the entire production levels skyrocket.

What if you try this at home? Make a game of it. At dinner every night be specific about things that you appreciate about each other. It can be awkward at first, but just think of the benefits.

More importantly, the lifelong lessons learned by your kids would be amazing. They would learn to scan their day for positive things. They would learn how to be verbally appreciative of each other and those outside the family. They would learn how great it feels to give a compliment.

As you get better, you could help them hone their skills. Help them be really specific. Rather than “Suzy was nice today” help them learn to say it more powerfully.  Try “Suzy helped me with a homework problem that was really hard for me, and it made me appreciate having a big sister who can help me.”

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