When Praise Falls on Deaf Ears: Is the Hedonic Impact of Compliments Muted When it Matters Most?
Year: 2009
Type: article
Abstract: When does praise fall on deaf ears?Though compliments may often provide a hefty emotional boost, at times they can fall short of packing their most powerful hedonic punches.In what may be an unfortunate paradox, compliments may feel least good when they come from those people most likely to offer them.In six studies, I explored the relationship between the person delivering a compliment and the affective response the compliment produced.Studies 1 and 2 provide evidence that compliments from loved ones are viewed as less emotionally impactful than compliments from strangers.Studies 3a-3c indicate that these effects are more likely to occur when the compliment is in an important domain and demonstrate that people are motivated to receive accurate feedback in important domains.Study 4 failed to find evidence of source effects when participants were given compliments in the lab.Methodological improvements are discussed and the important implications of this work for understanding how people process social feedback are underscored.
Author: Shana Cole
Institution: Ohio University
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2284387159