Describe the classic study at the U.S. Air Force Preparatory School on how expectations can influence people, and discuss its findings and implications

What will be an ideal response?

In 1973, Psychologist Robert Rosenthal described a classic example of how expectations influence people. At the U.S. Air Force Academy Preparatory School, 100 airmen were randomly assigned to five different math classes. Their teachers did not know about this random placement. Instead, each teacher was told that his or her students had unusually high or low ability. Students in the classes labeled "high ability" improved much more in math scores than those in "low ability" classes. Yet, initially, all of the classes had students of equal ability. Although the teachers were not conscious of any bias, apparently they subtly communicated their expectations to students. Most likely, they did this through tone of voice, body language, and by giving encouragement or criticism. Their "hints," in turn, created a self-fulfilling prophecy that affected the students. A self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that prompts people to act in ways that make the prediction come true. For instance, many teachers underestimate the abilities of ethnic minority children, which hurts the students' chances for success. In short, people sometimes become what we prophesy for them. It is wise to remember that others tend to live up or down to our expectations for them.