Pygmalion in sport: How coach expectations predict sports performance through self-efficacy and perceived athletic ability among Taiwanese collegiate athletes

The Pygmalion effect describes how individuals internalise others’ expectations and behave accordingly. While well-documented in education, this phenomenon remains underexplored in sports. This study examined how coach expectations predict sports performance through self-efficacy and, sequentially, perceived athletic ability among Taiwanese university athletes. A total of 172 Taiwanese university athletes (68.6% male, 31.4% female; M age = 19.91, SD = 1.27) participated in this cross-sectional study. Participants completed validated questionnaires measuring coach expectations, self-efficacy, perceived athletic ability, and sports performance. Using PLS-SEM with bias-corrected bootstrapping (10,000 resamples), results showed coach expectations significantly predicted self-efficacy ( β = .45, 95% CI [.32, .56]), which predicted perceived athletic ability ( β = .60, 95% CI [.48, .70]) and sports performance ( β = .24, 95% CI [.05, .41]). Perceived athletic ability also predicted sports performance ( β = .22, 95% CI [.03, .38]). The direct path from coach expectations to sports performance was non-significant ( β = .16, 95% CI [−.06, .32]), indicating full mediation. Indirect effects were identified through self-efficacy ( β = .11, 95% CI [.03, .20]) and through the sequential pathway via self-efficacy and perceived athletic ability ( β = .06, 95% CI [.01, .11]). Findings indicate coach expectations predict sports performance indirectly through psychological pathways rather than directly. Practically, coaches can support sports performance by communicating high expectations and providing supportive feedback that strengthens self-efficacy and perceived athletic ability.