Robert had lived in our homeless shelter for years before we discovered that he liked to steal.
In fact, we only discovered Robert’s “talents” when he tried to give a staff member a gift of something stolen.
Late one night I asked Robert about his “chosen profession” and he was VERY honest with me.
Robert was adamant, though, that he had NEVER stolen from the shelter.
I asked him why.
“Because,” Robert said with a solemn look, “you don’t treat me like a thief.”
Pygmalion and Golem
There are two related concepts in social science:
- Pygmalion Effect – When you have high expectations for someone, they are more likely to live up to them.
- Golem Effect – When you have low expectations for someone, they are more likely to live down to them.
These two concepts are usually used in educational contexts.
Randomly select 20% of the students. Tell their teacher that they are the smartest students. Their test scores will rise because the teacher treats them as smart.
The same thing happens if you tell a teacher that a randomly selected 20% is dumb. Their performance will drop.
You can create angels and demons
The way you treat people influences how they act.
When you treat people with humanity, you draw out their humanity.
When you demonize people, you draw out their demons.
Of course, this doesn’t work 100% of the time.
Nothing else does, either, though.
Wouldn’t you rather err on the side of humanity?
Have a great week!
Ryan