Children living with DYS disorders and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) face difficulties that inevitably affect their self-confidence. While hypnosis works very well on this front, parents play an essential role as co-supporters of the outcome: what better can they offer their child than their confidence and certainty in their skills and abilities? This brings us to the Pygmalion and Golem effects…
The Pygmalion effect, or parents’ positive expectations
Also known as the “Rosenthal effect” after the psychologist who identified it, the Pygmalion effect is a self-fulfilling prophecy, where believing in something increases the chances of it happening.
In other words, it aims to improve an individual’s performance based on how much an authority figure or their environment believes in their success. With confident parents, children with DYS disorders can build their own self-confidence.
The Golem effect, or parents’ negative expectations
Conversely, the Golem effect is a self-fulfilling prophecy in which lower expectations placed on an individual lead them to perform worse.
Here, potential judged as limited by a parent can lead to poorer results for their child. Often subtle, this behaviour can show up as a less warm tone of voice, less frequent encouragement, and so on.
How these effects were revealed by the rat experiment
Robert Rosenthal’s team originally ran a rat experiment in a maze, involving two groups of students: the first group was given rats supposedly highly intelligent; the second, rats of mediocre intellectual ability. In reality, the rats had been assigned completely at random.
The result of the experiment speaks for itself: the “more intelligent” rats performed better than the others. Why? Because the students were convinced of their rats’ intelligence, they stimulated them and gave them more attention, increasing their chances of success.
The role of parents in building children’s confidence
Faced with the Pygmalion and Golem effects, the hypnotherapist’s role is first to raise awareness of these phenomena and their potentially negative effects. In their child’s quest for self-confidence, parents play a fundamental role as co-supporters here.
As essential authority figures for a child, parents need to adjust their outlook and attitude to support the change process the hypnotherapist has set in motion. The goal is to lean on the Pygmalion effect to nurture the child’s confidence and keep the Golem effect to a minimum, to shield them from its harmful effects.
Don’t hesitate to discuss this further with the professionals on the Ora-Visio platform: our hypnotherapists are available online and fully ready to listen, to help you restore your child’s confidence! See you soon!
