Simply holding positive expectations about someone’s performance and truly believing in their capabilities can subtly but powerfully affect their behavior—leading to positive outcomes. This is what is ...

His most famous finding was the “Pygmalion effect,” in which teachers’ high expectations of students can subconsciously make them better students. By Clay Risen Robert Rosenthal, a psychologist ...

Annie Murphy Paul is the author of the forthcoming book Brilliant: The New Science of Smart. In the story told by the Roman poet Ovid, Pygmalion is a sculptor who falls in love with a statue he has ...