Which concept describes teachers' expectations influencing pupil achievement?

• A. Halo effect.
• B. Self-fulfilling prophecy.
• C. Golem effect.
• D. Stereotype threat.

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is that teachers’ expectations can shape how well a pupil actually does, through the way they treat and support that pupil. If a teacher expects a student to do well, they’re more likely to give them extra help, more challenging work, quicker feedback, and more positive attention. This can boost the student’s confidence, effort, and opportunities to learn, which often leads to better performance and a pupil ends up meeting those high expectations—the self-fulfilling prophecy in action. This concept is different from the halo effect, where a positive overall impression colors judgments about unrelated abilities; the Golem effect is the opposite pattern, where low expectations depress performance; and stereotype threat is about anxiety from stereotypes affecting performance in tests, not about a teacher’s expectations shaping outcomes over time.