Work

“That’s Not Just Beautiful—That’s Incredibly Beautiful!”

Year: 2014

Type: article

Abstract: In current Western society, children are often lavished with inflated praise (e.g., "You made an incredibly beautiful drawing!"). Inflated praise is often given in an attempt to raise children's self-esteem. An experiment (Study 1) and naturalistic study (Study 2) found that adults are especially inclined to give inflated praise to children with low self-esteem. This inclination may backfire, however. Inflated praise might convey to children that they should continue to meet very high standards-a message that might discourage children with low self-esteem from taking on challenges. Another experiment (Study 3) found that inflated praise decreases challenge seeking in children with low self-esteem and has the opposite effect on children with high self-esteem. These findings show that inflated praise, although well intended, may cause children with low self-esteem to avoid crucial learning experiences.

Source: Psychological Science

DOI: 10.1177/0956797613514251

Authors: Eddie Brummelman, Sander Thomaes, Bram Orobio de Castro, Geertjan Overbeek, Brad J. Bushman

Institutions: Utrecht University, University of Southampton, University of Amsterdam, The Ohio State University, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Language: English

Topic: Education, Achievement, and Giftedness

Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

OpenAlex ID: W2102159081

FWCI: 19.47

Cites: 41

Cited by: 113

Related to: 10