Challenging Negative Perceptions

While working in education, health, and social care can be hugely rewarding, it is not without its challenges.

The relationships we forge with the children, young people, and adults we support can sometimes feel intense and it is entirely natural to experience feelings of frustration, annoyance, and even anger now and again. We are only human, after all, and the nature of our work means that we sometimes find ourselves in challenging situations, supporting behaviour that we might struggle to understand.

However, if we allow negative emotions to spill into our conversations with other staff and colleagues, they can begin to influence our responses and risk creating a negative behaviour culture.

As committed practitioners, we need to continually challenge our preconceived ideas, negative perceptions, and beliefs about the individuals in our care. Holding onto prejudgements and letting them affect our practice is hugely damaging for our professional relationships as well as the wider culture of our setting.

The ‘expectancy effect’

The expectancy effect, also known as a self-fulfilling prophecy, refers to the phenomenon where a person’s expectations about an individual influence their actions, often leading the other person to behave in a way that confirms those expectations. Essentially, believing something will happen can make it more likely to occur.

For example, when a new member of staff is told that an individual is prone to ‘misbehave’, or is rude and uncompliant, they may be more likely to treat them differently. Perhaps they single the individual out, react to behaviours they might ignore from another person, or make unnecessary demands because of what they have been told. It then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy when the individual then behaves as initially described. This validates the staff member’s opinion of them, and so the cycle continues.

Download our Cycle of Influence poster.

Impact of negative perceptions

For the child, young person, or adult, negative perceptions of them and their behaviour can be extremely damaging. It can attribute to feelings of low self-esteem and self-worth and adversely affect their ability to form trusting relationships. When individuals feel they are being treated unfairly or disrespectfully, they may be more likely to engage in distressed or dysregulated behaviour.

Download our Individual Conflict Spiral tool.

When we harbour preconceived judgements around those we support, it also affects the wider organisational culture, making it more difficult to create supportive, positive environments where everyone feels included and valued.