The Matthew Effect: Origin, Meaning And Use – Being Parents

The term “Matthew effect” has been used since the mid-twentieth century in sociology and psychology to explain the fact that people who have benefits end up getting more, and those who have less are less likely to lose. ‘have access to it.

Initially, this concept only concerned the accumulation of material goods, wealth or glory. But later this term was also used in other disciplines such as education, psychology and economics.

Today, we explain to you what this effect is based on and how these inequalities can be explained.

“The rich get richer and the poor get poorer”.

-Percy Shelley-

What is the origin of this concept?

This phenomenon owes its name to the biblical passage of the Gospel according to Saint Matthew. More precisely in chapter 13, verse 12, which says “to him who has shall be given, and he shall have more; but from the one who does not have even what he has will be taken away ”.

This is a concept that was used to  explain the distribution of tangible or intangible goods,  why those who have more have more, or vice versa. It was therefore used in many fields to justify the unequal distribution.

For example, in the economic field, it is used as a parameter of money, wealth or material goods. But in fields like psychology and education, it refers to values ​​like trust, social prestige, etc. Therefore,  depending on the area to be explained, different measurement parameters will be studied.

In this article, we focus on the field of educational psychology in order to explain the Matthew effect.

The Matthew effect in reading

Psychologist Keith Stanovich (1984) was the first to adopt this concept to explain the reading and writing problems he observed in his research. Children who had great reading skills from the start had more advantages throughout their lives compared to those who did not.

This can be explained by the fact that  children who cannot read or who have difficulty reading have problems with motivation  and loss of self-confidence. As a result, they read less and end up distancing themselves from their peers who are more comfortable reading. Because the latter read more and have greater motivation and self-confidence.

To all this must also be added the  different treatment of teachers vis-à-vis children with special educational needs. Indeed, they receive less feedback, we expect less of them to improve or we will visit them less at their table.

How to reverse the Matthew effect?

To reverse this effect, at school, teachers or professors must encourage and help children who need it most. Parents should do the same at home. How? ‘Or’ What ?

• By devoting time to them.
• By congratulating them on each of their success.
• Give them time when they need to answer a question from the teacher.
• Motivate them to feel more secure with themselves  and be able to achieve their goals.
• Don’t always tell them what’s wrong  because they won’t want to improve. On the contrary, we need to reinforce what they do right.

• Do not make comparisons between classmates. Everyone is different and has a different learning pace.
• Do not encourage competition between students or children.

Thanks to this, we promote equal opportunities among all children. We also encourage those who have not yet acquired some learning to do so, in order to feel closer to the rest of the comrades.

About the Matthew effect …

You now know more about the Matthew effect and the importance of educating children to participate, not compete. It is up to adults to correct these inequalities which sometimes occur between children  and which are always instilled, for good or for evil.

Therefore,  we need to help more the one who needs it the most or who knows the least  so that he can achieve his goals and desires. If these children do not receive sufficient support, they can indeed end up failing.