An experiment using two undergraduate psychology classes was conducted to see if encouraging comments from the instructor, which were e-mailed to the students, would have an effect on student's test performance. No statistical difference was found between the grades of the class that received encouraging comments from the instructor and the class that did not (at an alpha level of .15). This failure to replicate the self-fulfilling prophecy effects of Rosenthal's 1968 "Pygmalion in the Classroom" study once again raises doubts about generalizability of the historic study. Student apathy to the instructor's opinion is suggested as the primary explanation for the surprising results of this study. Suggestions for further research are made. Contains 18 references and a table of data. Appendixes contain raw data; graphs of test scores with normal curve overlay; descriptive statistics and paired sample correlations; and an informed consent form. (Author/RS)