Website review: The Power (and Peril) of Praising Y...
lindzilla discovered this in Psychology
•43 reviews since Feb 12, 2007
psychology, parenting, children
•nymag.com/news/features/27840/index.html
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Reviews of this website
lindzilla discovered 17 months ago- Great article on learning the power and precision of phrase
- Rhythmologist rated 17 months ago
- Article about motivating children that ought to be compulsory reading for all parents - especially the 'pushy' ones who do not know how much damage they are doing. Praise the child for their effort and build their self esteem - this is something they can control and develop.
- morbid30 rated 17 months ago
- Very interesting article worth a thought.
- AuroraBee rated 17 months ago
- Fantastic article. A must read for anyone with kids. Praise is powerful, but can also do harm. What struck me most was that it is much more worthwhile to praise a child for specific actions and effort (things they have control over) than with glowing labels like "you're really smart" (not something they control). When the kids who are told they are smart encounter failure, its much more of a blow, and can lead to giving up. There were many great points in the article, from kids being suspicious about praise and what that means to what parents get out of giving the praise. It needs to not be about the parent. It's somewhat lengthy, but worth the time. This is going in my favorites. I do believe I will modify how I give positive feedback to my kids.
- JustLeftAsylum rated 17 months ago
- I have to agree with this article-- I see it everywhere. I hope this study gets around to the masses, but I highly doubt it. An interesting read which I highly suggest!
- ericthehamster rated 17 months ago
- Fascinating and slightly depressing article on how praise can be counter-productive, as it can prevent children from attempting tasks/tests in which they may fail. There is clearly a fine balance between over-praising a child's intelligence, and maintaining his confidence by praising his efforts. A long article but worth the read, especially if you have children. Seen on several stumbler's pages. From the page:"Having artificially induced a round of failure, Dweck's researchers then gave all the fifth-graders a final round of tests that were engineered to be as easy as the first round. Those who had been praised for their effort significantly improved on their first score--by about 30 percent. Those who'd been told they were smart did worse than they had at the very beginning--by about 20 percent. Dweck had suspected that praise could backfire, but even she was surprised by the magnitude of the effect. "Emphasizing effort gives a child a variable that they can control," she explains. "They come to see themselves as in control of their success. Emphasizing natural intelligence takes it out of the child's control, and it provides no good recipe for responding to a failure." In follow-up interviews, Dweck discovered that those who think that innate intelligence is the key to success begin to discount the importance of effort. I am smart, the kids' reasoning goes; I don't need to put out effort. Expending effort becomes stigmatized--it's public proof that you can't cut it on your natural gifts."
- Hark rated 17 months ago
- At some point you have to put in effort to get somewhere. Smart kids don't know how. According to this article that's because they've been praised for their intelligence rather than their effort. They fail because they're smart. Interesting article.
- liamvictor rated 17 months ago
- How praising children can be counter productive as "you're so smart" kids may give up when they feel challenged. Instead "well done, you worked hard" encourages them to tackle harder tasks and not rely on natural ability. Found at http://pseudonym.stumbleupon.com/
- pseudonym rated 17 months ago
From the page: "I am smart, the kids' reasoning goes; I don't need to put out effort. Expending effort becomes stigmatized--it's public proof that you can't cut it on your natural gifts."
- F3nr1L rated 17 months ago
- Wow.. Do I wish I had read this 8 years ago. Or at least, my parents and relatives. To this day, I STILL completely give up anything I don't get easily, and I can't help it. It is very, very true that intelligent children expect less from themselves and completely underrate the amount of help they need. It's because we are the ones being called smart- why would we ever think to get help from people that aren't?
- misslicorice rated 17 months ago
- "Thomas didn't want to try things he wouldn't be successful at," his father says. "Some things came very quickly to him, but when they didn't, he gave up almost immediately, concluding, `I'm not good at this.' " With no more than a glance, Thomas was dividing the world into two -- things he was naturally good at and things he wasn't. I was like that when I was a kid too! I wish I could go back in time and bitch slap myself, because now I have to learn the things I wouldn't try back then. But I don't remember anyone telling me I was smart.
