Pygmalion Effect and the Influence of One Woman in the Deep End

It wasn't too long ago that I was sitting inside of a prison cell wondering if all the hard work and line-toeing I did was going to be worth it. I wanted to be a change agent, someone who is a catalyst for systemic impact. My ideal job was to work for Washington State Department of Corrections in some capacity to begin the process of cultural change because I am good at it and passionate.

I am not going to sit here and convince anyone that I have this all figured out or that there is this specialized skill required to effect real change. There is billions of dollars being dispersed nationally to figure out ways to effect change in prisons. But the single most effective thing I have experienced in seeing real change come about was free and quite simple. So simple it's unbelievable. I was able to impact whole swaths of people through simple affirmation and personal ambition. No joke.

I made it a point to think of people around me differently. I read about an experiment that was highly influential in this approach that has been referred to as the "Rosenthal Rat" experiment, otherwise known as the Pygmalion Effect. In brief, the Pygmalion Effect is when you have higher expectations of someone's capabilities they tend to perform up to those standards. In essence, when I began to think of the people around me as valuable and intelligent, guess what- they lived up to that. Then they, in turn, did that to other people.

It was such a subtle thing that no one hardly noticed. All I did was deliver affirmations that I believed to be true about the people around me. Whether they were correction's officers, prisoners, people in the community, administration...I did it to everyone. Then I watched as a voracious thirst for education developed in people. The angriest and most sour of people softened to a point of near kindness. It was like magic but all I did was appreciate them.

I wasn't trying to do this, it was accidental, but it happened none-the-less. I was actually trying to make room for myself at the proverbial table of opportunity. I just didn't want to be left out because everywhere I went it was the same 4-6 people involved in everything that impacted my environment and none of them were qualified to speak about my experiences as a Woman in a men's prison.

It makes me wonder what might happen if others have this knowledge? Will it be extinguished by those who prefer the power that comes from punitive measures- subjugating human bodies into submission through the maintenance of low self-worth and lack of support for self-identity (purpose). Or- will it be nurtured by those who have the ability?

If one person can make an impact big enough to see results over a few years, imagine what can happen if it was done on purpose.

Now, here I am 7 months out of prison and I am noticing that everything in my life is still relating back to prison. My employment. Friends. Social events. Interviews. Books. Academics. Thoughts. Goals...It all relates back to prison- so much so that it feels like I am being swallowed by it all. It feels like I am in the deep end of it all, like I am a long ways away from the shore. I've always been a good swimmer...