Abstract
The effect of expectations on our behavior has been studied by psychologists in many areas of our lives, including the school environment. It is now fifty years since the great American psychologist Robert Rosenthal conducted the famous experiment Pygmalion, that confirmed the effects of expectations on the work of teachers.
Since then, psychologists ask questions about how it is possible that mere expectations of the teacher can affect the results of his pupils, what mechanisms are at work here, or how we can defend ourselves from these processes. As indicated by the results of research, roughly 10-20 % of teachers let their work be influenced by positive or negative expectations towards their pupils.
Can the school psychologist help the teachers in any way?