A less-drastic example of this is known as the Pygmalion effect. In 1965, Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson did a study where teachers in elementary schools were told that certain pupils were advanced or intellectually gifted, and should be taught and monitored accordingly.16 As you’d expect, these pupils showed tests and academic performance in line with being of higher intelligence. The trouble was, they weren’t gifted; they were normal pupils. But being treated as if they were smarter and brighter meant they essentially started performing to meet expectations.
