In a well-known study conducted by Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968), schoolteachers were told that certain of their students-who were in fact chosen by the researchers at random-were "intellectual bloomers" and had tremendous academic potential. When these students were tested at the end of the year, it was found that their IQ scores had indeed significantly increased (presumably as a result of the special attention and treatment they had received from their teachers). This research most clearly demonstrates ____.
A) the self-serving bias
B) the discontinuity effect
C) scapegoating
D) the self-fulfilling prophecy

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This study is a classic example of a self-fulfilling prophecy, where teachers' expectations of their students' ability become reality because of their treatment of those students. The "intellectual bloomers" were not actually smarter than their peers, but because the teachers believed they were, they treated them differently and the students' IQ scores improved as a result.

In a Well-Known Study Conducted by Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968)