How a 1969 IQ Study Proved Proper Expectations Can Make You Smarter
A 1969 UCLA study of IQ reveals the critical importance of expectations, our peers, and how you can lift yourself to greater heights.
The path to this study began in, of all places, Greek mythology.
A lusting artist
Pygmalion was a brilliant sculptor on the Greek island of Cyprus.
He was a dashing man, extremely talented, and thus was a highly eligible bachelor. There was tremendous pressure for him to marry.
Oddly, he was not interested in any of the women, which was causing discontent on the island.
The goddess Aphrodite visited him to understand the issue. As she walked in, she marveled at the beauty of the statues that lined his studio. She was amazed that every statue resembled her. She was honored by his work and tribute. She would repay him very soon.
Pygmalion's greatest creation, named Galatea, was enchantingly beautiful and a near-perfect mirror image of Aphrodite. He'd fallen in love with this statue and thus could not marry any other woman.
After hearing Pygmalion's pleading prayers to make the statue real, Aphrodite granted him the wish.
One night, as he leaned in to kiss the statue, he was surprised to feel soft human lips meeting his own.
This moment is depicted in the priceless painting 'Pygmalion and Galatea' by Jean-Léon Gérôme:
This story represents the power of transformation and belief.
It inspired George Bernard Shaw's book, Pygmalion, which was later made into the famous film, My Fair Lady. In it, a phonetics professor bets he can educate a young low-income woman and prepare her to mingle with society's elite without issue.
Decades later, a renowned psychologist designed a study that revealed the same central theme — that personal achievement is shaped (to a large degree) by how others see you.
The IQ Study and Pygmalion Effect
In 1969, UCLA psychologist Dr. Robert Rosenthal did an IQ experiment.
He met with two grade-school teachers. He gave them a list of names from their new student body (20% of the class). He said that each person on that list had taken a special test and would emerge as highly intelligent within the next 12 months.
In reality, those students were chosen totally at random. As a group, they were of average intelligence. The incredible finding is that, when they tested those children near the end of the year, each demonstrated significant increases in their IQ scores.
So what happened? Why?
The teacher's own behavior towards those students affected the outcomes.
They gave the fake-talented students more attention. When one raised their hand to answer a question, the teacher often followed up to get better clarification. The teachers were more positive and encouraging to those students.
Meanwhile, the teacher was much shorter with students they deemed subpar. Rosenthal speculated the teacher figured the student might be dumb, so why go the extra mile?
Dr. Rosenthal said, 'When we expect certain behaviors of others, we are likely to act in ways that make the expected behavior more likely to occur.'
The opposite of the Pygmalion effect is the Golem Effect; it occurs when our negative expectations generate negative results. This is partly why internalizing stereotypes is so damaging.
What can we learn from these effects? Two things.
The first thing
The children in Rosenthal's study began to internalize the belief that they were special. They bought into the idea, 'I'm smart so I can do this.'
Their self-efficacy grew and evolved and they stopped indulging in self-limiting beliefs.
The act of believing something to be true can impact every aspect of our life. For example, OKCupid's founder, Christian Rudder, did a Pygmalion experiment with online dating. Researchers lied to users. They reversed the matching algorithm on a select group of singles, pairing them with people who were objectively incompatible. And told them they were high probability matches.
Because the participants believed they had chemistry, they messaged each other and began flirting. They were friendlier and gave each other a shot. Incredibly, some ended up together in long term relationships.
And now, somewhere out there, someone is in love with their nemesis.
Become your own teacher or mentor
We position ourselves to thrive by surrounding ourselves with people who believe in us and hold us to a high standard. This is why toxic people have such a devastating effect on your life.
Think about a good boss versus a bad boss.
A good boss knows how to communicate and holds you to high but reasonable expectations. They give you useful feedback rather than waiting for you to make a mistake and scold you. A bad boss does the opposite of those things. I've been through this myself, with a boss who made me feel like I couldn't win no matter how hard I tried. And, I've had a great boss who helped me grow, believed in me, and rooted for me to perform great.
When the expectation is there to perform, you stop second guessing yourself so much. You act. You get down to the important actions that move you towards a desired outcome.
A key component of this is having a growth mindset, a belief that one's abilities and intelligence can be developed through dedication, effort, and learning
Someone with a fixed mindset thinks their identity and fate are largely pre-determined. They are often self-defeating.
'What is the point? I'm stupid.'
'I'm too lazy to get in shape.'
'Nobody in my family is successful so I won't be.'
The most successful people I've ever known have a fighting spirit, a helpful defiance in them to keep going. They don't seek out reasons they can't win.
The good news? The fact that you are here reading this self-help article suggests you are likely of a growth mindset.
If you are plagued by self-doubt and self-criticism, here is a strategy I learned during cognitive behavioral therapy. Keep a sheet of paper and a pen by your desk. Anytime you notice you are self-criticizing, saying you are lazy or not good enough, or indulging any negative thought—make a line on that piece of paper.
Then, count the lines at the end of the day. Make it a goal to reduce that count each day.
You can take it a step further and make a plus symbol anytime you realize you are indulging empowering thoughts. Seek to increase those in the same manner. This exercise will help you build awareness of your thought process, which is what drives all of the actions you take. It will help you reform and sculpt the perfect mindset.
The takeaway is simple
Surround yourself with great people who hold you to a high but reasonable standard.
Treat yourself like another person who you are responsible for. Treat yourself like that student who believes they are talented.
Have the courage to believe in yourself even if nobody else does. Become a prophet of your own success.
The big idea is that when we expect a certain outcome out of a person, including ourselves, that outcome becomes more likely to occur. If you expect nothing, or mediocrity—expect exactly that.
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