Using the Pygmalion Effect to Improve Outcomes

Evidence suggests that the attitudes and expectations people bring into an environment can impact outcomes.

This is known as the Pygmalion Effect.

The Pygmalion Effect is a phenomenon where higher expectations lead to higher performance. Our beliefs in another person lead to our actions toward them. This influences their beliefs about themselves, which impacts their actions toward us, which in turn influences our beliefs about that person. Therefore, it is important to hold high expectations for anyone being supported by another.

Watch this short video to learn more about the Pygmalion Effect.

 

Using the Least Dangerous Assumption to Inform Practice

A guiding principle to help us presume potential is called The Least Dangerous Assumption, originally crafted by Anne Donnellan. 

The Least Dangerous Assumption is an inclusive approach to educational policy and pedagogy. It holds that in the absence of conclusive data, educational decisions should be based on assumptions that, if incorrect, will least likely limit the student. Adapted from Donnellan, A. (1984). The criterion of the least dangerous assumption. Behavioral Disorders, 9, 141-150.

Simply put, if you don’t have enough information to make a decision pertaining to an intervention, choose the option that is least likely to limit the potential of the individual.

Watch this video featuring LCPS’s Assistive Technology Specialist Christopher Bugaj which describes the Least Dangerous Assumption.