Expectancy
We know that what we expect begins to pre-order what we actually get.
It’s not mumbo jumbo and there’s a lot more to this than meets the eye….
Rosenthal and Jacobson – Expectancy theory
Rosenthal and Jacobson’s landmark research reveals how much our expectations of other people can shape other people’s behaviours for better or worse.
Rosenthal and Jacobson conducted an experiment with teachers and pupils at a school in the United States. They tested all the children in the same year with a form of IQ test that supposedly predicted future achievement levels. The teachers were unaware of the nature of the test but were told it was a successful tool.
Some of the teachers at the school were informed which of the students in their classes had obtained scores in the top 20% of this test and so were ‘ready’ to realize their potential, according to their test scores. Actually, the students were placed on these lists completely at random. There was no difference between these students and other students whose names were not on the lists. The students were also not told of the test results.
At the end of the school year, students who had been labelled as ‘ready to bloom’ showed greater gains than those who had not been labelled in this way.
Rosenthal and Jacobson’s results demonstrate a powerful self-fulfilling prophecy. Students believed to be on the verge of great academic success performed in accordance with these expectations; students not labelled this way did not.
Follow up studies replicate the results and seem to offer clear support for the hypothesis that our expectations of others can influence reality. This influence can be beneficial or detrimental depending on how we label an individual.
What the research suggests is that if you have a friend, workmate, or child you can expect differences immediately if you change your view of them.
It also works with Monkeys.
Focus and awareness
Shifting our focus is one way to achieve a different perspective on what is really going on.
The Secret….
You may have read The Secret or other similar books, or not read them. Either way, you are probably familiar with a variation of the eternal truth – what you think about changes you.
Popular phrases include:
By their fruits you will know them
You become what you think about
Earl Nightingale
Was Earl Nightingale the father of self help industry ?
Earl Nightingale’s book, The Strangest Secret, originally published in 1957, was one of the first books to help people become successful. He is quoted as the father of success and it’s worth reading and listening to his recordings of the book. The record and it was in those days was the first million selling self help recording and arguably its shaped everything and everybody since it was released.
Try this link if you are interested :
Or this
Where we focus changes everything.
I can look dispassionately at my hands and my fingers typing on the keypad. I can choose to forget my hands and watch the words appearing on the screen. I can change focus again and concentrate on my hands.
Immediately I notice tension in my wrists and fingers. Without thinking I line up the keyboard better and the tension eases.
My focus changes and, forgetting my hands completely, I now wonder why I didn’t do this ten minutes ago.
Our focus or lack of it explains much of our experience and most of our results.
VW Camper Vans
For example, last spring we started thinking about buying a VW camper van. We didn’t know much about them but the lifestyle looked great for a summer of fun. Suddenly these vans were everywhere. All the workmen seemed to be driving one, wherever we parked or travelled we saw them. As we decided on the particular model we wanted, we saw more vans with these specific features.
There was not a sudden increase in the number of vans or the number of vans with the features we wanted. It was just that our perception altered. We were looking for VW vans and so we noticed them. The vans are always there but thinking about buying one changed our awareness of our world.
From VW vans to tension in my wrists, my focus illuminates what I think is really there. You can try this experiment to see how it works. Pick something you do not yet see many of, perhaps a Tesla car, a human with blue eyes or a campervan. Hold the thought in your mind and see what happens to your perception over the next few days.
ViewPoints
Shifting focus can be achieved by physically shifting position, literally seeking a new viewpoint or by directing our attention differently. Our garden looks very different from the downstairs kitchen window and the upstairs bedroom windows. Different plants and features change shape, change size and change prominence depending from where we look.
What you see is not all there is
One idea worth some thought is that we are always aware of everything all the time even when we are not looking at it. In other words, our real awareness is total but we don’t always see everything. Accepting that the limits of our conscious awareness are not the limits of our true awareness can be hard to get your head around. Most people will know that all they see is not all there is and yet we can easily forget this and begin to think that all we see is, in fact, all there is.
This is never true and it’s always worth considering this fact as a positive.
What this suggests is that our perception, what we actually see or are aware of in the moment, is just the result of our attention being focussed on one or other parts of the whole picture.
Think your hand, VW vans, hunger from missing lunch or your own breathing.
And for Meditators?
This idea is important for would-be meditators in search of the big prize. It means that the sunlit uplands are already and always in your awareness. The glimpses we get are available to us only when the direction of our attention and focus allows it. If our attention and focus is a slave to distraction, it’s not surprising that we don’t get to see this part of the big picture very often.
It follows that overcoming distraction by being in more control of what we focus on and where we put our attention will allow us a more permanent glimpse. As we progress with our relationship with the Monkey, we gain more control over our attention and focus. This gives us the chance to explore our real awareness more effectively. This leads to a better grasp or understanding and a fuller appreciation of the real scope and the sheer scale of the awareness we already have.
As our expectancy changes regarding the nature of the possible relationship with the Monkey we see tangible permanent change in our relationships.
You can assess the state of your relationship with your Monkey here
Look for the good
What expectancy tells us is a practical idea. If you think your work colleague is an idiot you will see examples that confirm your view.
Imagine the regional manager who thinks the branch manager is performing below an accepted standard. He turns up for his monthly visit wondering, what he will find going wrong this month? What effect will this have on him and on the branch manager? What will he find?
Obviously, good managers will visit with an open mind but it’s not always as easy to have an open mind. Hidden or deep-rooted beliefs drive our perception and our experience and it’s worth taking time out to consider what yours might be in general and in our context here with respect to your Monkey and this idea of them being a source of help.
It’s a fact:
change your view and watch how fast the idiots can become superstars
It may surprise you.
Taking the challenge is a great way of giving your Monkey the chance to show you who they really are Challenge
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