Pygmalion effects can be created without inducing contrasts between high and low performers. When platoon leaders at training camps were convinced that all of the soldiers in their classes had unusually high command potential, there was still a strong Pygmalion effect. This research suggests that overall performance of a group can be increased when leaders expect everyone to do well. There is apparently no need to sort people into subgroups of high-status “winners” and low-status “losers” in order to use the power of the self-fulfilling prophecy to enhance performance.
