The Pygmalion effect ….. Probably some of you have experienced it , for those who don’t know its meaning I will try to explain it with an example , it is my personal point of view , so I don’t have an expert to support what I’m saying .
The octopus paul became famous worldwide for predicting the winners of matches in world cup 2010, after the world cup finished many theories trying to explain his behavior arose, some saying that paul has the ability to know future events, others arguing that was chance what guided his choices, and some others saying that potential bias such as spatial preference or related factors for example light intensity influenced his decisions(1) .Although trying to figure out what made him choose a particular team instead of the other is not the question here, I would like to give a personal explanation of why this particular team won . Well I would say that it is quite likely that teams such as Germany or Spain had won because octopus paul said they were going to win , and this generated a greater expectation upon them, expectation enhanced by media influence and this expectation gave them enough confidence that finally made them win. This is a perfect example to explain :" how the perceivers positive expectation may enhance the target's performance, a phenomenon often referred to as The Pygmalion effect"2.
1. http://mentesana.suite101.net/article.cfm/el-pulpo-paul-el-poder-de-las-expectativas
2. Tkao Inamori, Farhad Analui/ nov 26 2009/Beyond Pygmalion effect: the role of managerial perception.
3.http://www.csmonitor.com/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/images/0707-paul-the-octopus.jpg/8274790-1-eng-US/0707-paul-the-octopus.jpg_full_600.jpg
Great comment!
ResponderEliminarthe issue of the Octopus Paul regarding the success of guessing the results in the world cup could be a bit controversial when we link it to a possible pygmalion effect, i probably disagree with it because for example in the final game (and in all games), there were expectations toward the octopus from both sides (spanish and netherland people), so the influence of the spanish people could not be higher than netherland' to say that the octopus was a clear actor in order to find the victory. so my opinion toward it is...that octopus has just very good luck!
I don't think Evelyn meant expectation from Spaniards or Dutschs on PAUL itself, but the expectations of crowds and players after the octupus made his (probably random) choice.
ResponderEliminarAlthough I personnaly cannot (or want to) believe, that internationally experienced professional soccer players are actually mentally influenced by an octopus, I LOVE that explanation for Pauls always right decisions. It would also explain, why the German team acted so anxious in the semi-finale against Spain, that you could not at all compare their play with former matches.
I think your point of view Evelyn should scientifically be examined... seriously! What a great idea :-)
Thanks for your comments !! Carlos I wasn't talking about the expectations upon paul but upon the team, as sabrina said it was probably a random choice ... I don't want to believe it either :) but it makes a lot of sense. I totally agree with you , it should be somehow analysed but paul might lose his fame :P
ResponderEliminarIt was a great example. I even feel sorry that I wasn´t the one who came up with it.
ResponderEliminarI totally agree. This may even sound new age or something, but quantum physicist discovered that our attention influences the behavior of particles, and thus all matter in our current reality. Subatomic particles move around, suddenly disappearing from their starting point, and later reappearing as if by magic somewhere else. You can´t see a subatomic particle move from A to B. You just see it in point A, and later in point B. This equivalence of particles and wave is related to Einstein’s equivalence of matter and energy. So nature is both things at once, and the only way to determine if it´s a wave or a particle at any given time and space, it’s by measuring it. By paying attention.
So I personally believe that, going even further than the Pygmalion effect, our perceptions create reality; and a perception that something is going to be this or that way is an expectation.
Regarding Paul, I believe that in the beginning Paul was just merely lucky, then as people began to see that he was right, they adopted his choices as expectations. So whatever he chose, people believed it was going to occur. The more he was right, more reinforced was the belief that he could foresee the future, and more people joined in. Then things happened.
This would explain why experts argue that Paul’s choices were just based in the flags’ colors or in light intensity.