The Pygmalion effect is a model that states that higher expectations lead to increased performance, as people try to meet the expectations set for them. (It’s named after the Greek myth of Pygmalion, a sculptor who crafted his ideal spouse, whom Aphrodite then gave life to as Galatea.) Conversely the golem effect is the phenomenon where lower expectations lead to lower performance. (That one’s named after a clay creature in Jewish mythology that came to life, grew increasingly corrupt and violent, and eventually had to be destroyed.) Both are types of self-fulfilling prophecies.
