Lenore Jacobson
Encyclopedia
Lenore F Jacobson was principal of an elementary school in the South San Francisco Unified School District in 1963 when she started a correspondence with Harvard psychologist Robert Rosenthal
which led to the influential Pygmalion Effect
study.
Jacobson, who had earned an MA
at California State University, Sacramento
in 1951, wrote to Rosenthal after he published a paper in American Scientist
about the effect of researchers' expectations on their subjects in psychological experiments. In the article he mentioned the possibility that a similar self-fulfilling prophecy
might be at work between teachers and students. After they had started to correspond, Jacobson offered Rosenthal her assistance and they agreed to collaborate on a study at her school. The experimental design for this research was finalised when Rosenthal went to San Francisco to meet Jacobson for the first time in 1964.
They published their findings in Psychological Reports, 1966, vol. 19. This led to the publication of Pygmalion in the Classroom
in 1968.
Seven years later Jacobson and Paul M. Insel published What do you expect?: An inquiry into self-fulfilling prophecies, (California 1975).
Robert Rosenthal (psychologist)
Robert Rosenthal is Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside. His interests include self-fulfilling prophecies, which he explored in a well-known study of the Pygmalion Effect: the effect of teachers' expectations on students.Rosenthal was born in Giessen,...
which led to the influential Pygmalion Effect
Pygmalion effect
The Pygmalion effect, or Rosenthal effect, refers to the phenomenon in which the greater the expectation placed upon people, often children or students and employees, the better they perform...
study.
Jacobson, who had earned an MA
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
at California State University, Sacramento
California State University, Sacramento
California State University, Sacramento, popularly known as Sacramento State, is a public university located in the city of Sacramento, California. It is part of the California State University system...
in 1951, wrote to Rosenthal after he published a paper in American Scientist
American Scientist
American Scientist is the bimonthly science and technology magazine published since 1913 by Sigma Xi. Each issue includes four to five feature articles written by scientists and engineers. These authors review research in all fields of science...
about the effect of researchers' expectations on their subjects in psychological experiments. In the article he mentioned the possibility that a similar self-fulfilling prophecy
Self-fulfilling prophecy
A self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true, by the very terms of the prophecy itself, due to positive feedback between belief and behavior. Although examples of such prophecies can be found in literature as far back as ancient Greece and...
might be at work between teachers and students. After they had started to correspond, Jacobson offered Rosenthal her assistance and they agreed to collaborate on a study at her school. The experimental design for this research was finalised when Rosenthal went to San Francisco to meet Jacobson for the first time in 1964.
They published their findings in Psychological Reports, 1966, vol. 19. This led to the publication of Pygmalion in the Classroom
Pygmalion in the Classroom
Pygmalion in the Classroom is a 1968 book byRobert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson about the effects of teacher expectation on student performance.Reviewing the book, James Rhem wrote:See:* Pygmalion effect* educational reform...
in 1968.
Seven years later Jacobson and Paul M. Insel published What do you expect?: An inquiry into self-fulfilling prophecies, (California 1975).
Sources
- Robert Rosenthal, The Pygmalion Effect and its Mediating Mechanisms in Improving Academic Achievement: Impact of Psychological Factors on Education ed. Joshua Aronson (2002)
- Teachers’ Expectancies
- Library catalogs