Physics has historically been portrayed as a field for brilliant men. Many prior studies have focused on the reasons for women's underrepresentation in physics and related disciplines from different perspectives and strategies to improve the learning environments so that all students can excel in physics courses. Due to societal stereotypes, women often have significantly lower physics self-efficacy than men even when they perform similarly, and many shy away from physics-related majors and careers. This article focuses on a study of how the perception of being positively recognized or not recognized appropriately by the instructor or teaching assistant as a "physics person" impacts male and female students' self-efficacy and performance at the end of a two-term college calculus-based introductory physics sequence. Being recognized by the instructor as a student who can excel in physics can be valuable for all students in physics courses. However, it is particularly important for underrepresented students, including women and ethnic and racial minorities, partly due to the societal stereotypes associated with who can excel in physics and lack of role models.