[What Is] The Matthew Effect

In a development environment when hidden talents are missed by coaches and only the obvious, visible ones are valued is an example of the Matthew Effect. It is also used in the context of ‘the rich get richer while the poor get poorer’ so when coaches spend more time with players they can see value in then this develops a positive feedback loop for that player.

It comes from the ‘parable of the talents’ in Matthew’s gospel in the Bible which encourages the use of a talent.

• This is part of a library of What Is descriptions on this site.