Remedial self-fulfilling prophecy: Two field experiments to prevent golem effects among disadvantaged women

Tbe Pygmalion effect is a self-fulfilling prophecy (SFP) in which raising l eader expectations boosts subordinate performance. Although attempts to pro duce Pygmalion effects have been successful repeatedly among men, attempts to produce Pygmalion effects with female leaders have yielded null results. Also. only 1 experiment has demonstrated the Golem effect (i.e., negative SFP in which low leader expectations impair subordinate performance). In 2 field experiments testing the SEP hypothesis among women leading disadvanta ged women, experimental lenders were led to believe that their trainees had higher than usual potential. In reality, the trainees had been assigned ra ndomly. Manipulation checks confirmed that the treatment raised leader expe ctations toward experimental trainees. Analysis of variance of performance detected the predicted SFP effects in both experiments. These were the firs t-ever experimental confirmations of SFP among women as leaders.