How Does Praise For Intelligence Can Undermine Children's Motivation

Kohn’s first reason is that praise is used to manipulate the children. Kohn says that praise is “sugar-coated control” (Kohn, 110, 2001) adults use to pressure their child into good behavior. Kohn’s second reason is that praising children creates “praise junkies” (Kohn, 111, 2001). He believes that the child will no longer perform an activity for the proper reasons, instead of doing a difficult task to be able to say that they could their motives altered to only desire the

After reading Seal’s article which stated that Americans often thought kids are born smart while Asians more often believed that studying makes a person smarter, I was reminded my own personal beliefs on intelligence and I realized that I have thought people could get smart by exerting effort since I was in the last year of elementary school in Vietnam. Therefore, I empathized with Seal’s attitude that success and achievement are a result of working hard. I could remember that I got this attitude when I was in an important final exam which decided where my middle school was in the next year that depended on my score. In this exam, the math test was an extremely difficult test for every student because it had a strange math problem which my classmates and I had never studied before. At first, I had spent for 2 hour to solve this problem, but I didn’t succeed. So, I wanted to give up. However, I was worry about my score and thought about my mom, who hoped that I could get the high score enough to enter a famous middle school. Since I didn’t want to disappoint my mom’s wish, I tried to solve this math problem again and again and again. Eventually, I was successful to solve

❖ Perhaps the last thing that should be mentioned when relating to how pupils learn and develop self-esteem is. “The question is, not how intelligent is the child, but in what ways is the child intelligent?”

Teachers and parents have dedicated their time to tell children that they are smart and talented every time they get a good grade. Praising children this type of way has had an impact on their lives. Dweck said “many students believe that intelligence is fixed, that each person has certain amount and that’s that”. Students with fixed mindset only care about how smart they look or how smart they appear. By having this fix mindset, they turn down the ability to learn new things. They believe that if you study hard, you are not smart enough, and that if you were smart things will come to you with no effort. This has made students lose their belief in oneself when they face complicated circumstance. Dweck says that the reason for kids to have a fixed mindset is “intelligence

The praise and encouragement the children receive will instill a sense of self-worth in them. When parents “prais[e] children for their effort, … [it] is… effective… motivating them” (Hammond). The praise can help children realize that their effort is valuable and that with the effort can come possible success. The motivation that their parents provide can be the foundation for self-motivation in the future, which creates more drive to continue with a challenging task. They will be given unconditional self-esteem which is essential in overcoming whatever failure they may encounter, whether it be in school or in social circumstances. Furthermore, the praise the children receive will not blind them from their faults and failures. Will children “who [have] received a trinket after losing a contest… [believe] that [they] … won” (Kohn)? Children have the ability of recognising their own defeat, and the defeat in itself will already put the child down, so a scolding parent will not help the child’s mindset. Instead, when children are encouraged after a defeat and are provided with a positive environment, they will recognise their loss and will become stronger because of it. If they realize that they are worth love and praise even if they make mistakes, they can grow and develop self-confidence

People believe that in order to be Smart, you have to become Smart, in other hands the brain works like a machine, the more you teach it, the more it learns. Usually students with a Growth Mindset are most likely to Succeed in Society. The changes that should be changed in Schools is that Students should be Congratulated on how hard they’ve worked on an Assignment etc.,“Wow… that’s a really good score, must of Worked hard” (25). The Researcher has Experimented the students with Test to see how they do and how they react to it. College students may pick up this Article to Study for Child Behavior, Counselors may also read this Article to get an ideal on how and why students Fail or Succeed. Schools should complement on how they're doing their work for it can motivate them, “We found that intelligence praise encouraged a fixed mindset more often than did pats on the back for effort” (25). Comparing the Two Articles “Marita’s Bargain” shows how they got their Intelligence unlike this article which states why students Fail or Succeed. After all, the students should be Praised for their efforts and not their

Descriptive praise also comments on what the child has done wrong. Although this may appear to decrease a child’s self-esteem and confidence, in reality it allows them to reflect upon their mistakes, pushing themselves further in order to be appreciated. Without recognition a child feels the need to work towards the incomplete task in order to receive praise, encouraging themselves eventually increasing self-confidence after being praised. Gradually children will become aware of the expectations that are expected of them, comprehending that they have the ability to achieve great heights when they are determined. This motivation allows children to approach situations in the future with a positive attitude as they will take on any task with the mindset to complete it to the best of their ability allowing for success. Certain words of encouragement such as “you're not complaining about the food” or “you tasted the peas. That was brave” can influence a child’s behavior positively. This form of communication is not only a way for parents to motivate them, but also a way for them to realize on their own the various expectations parents have for children; thus better understanding their view on situations. As children are constantly praised for the same things they feel the need to go above and beyond what is expected of them portraying to both themselves and parents that they are aware of expectations. Once children are aware of

In Grant Penrod’s “Anti- Intellectualism: Why We Hate the Smart Kids” essay, he argues that academic achievements should be acknowledged equally just as an athletic achievement. Smart kids do not receive the acknowledgment that they deserve since society has a negative look regarding smart kids. Anti- Intellectualism is hostile feelings towards intellectuals or intellectual thoughts. Society tends to celebrate non-intellectuals. The essay talks about smart kids being labeled social outcasts for the reason that average kids have separated themselves from kids smarter than them. Smart kids feel as if they should retain their intelligence just to fit in a judgmental world. Penrod’s argument is effective because his topic is still relevant to today’s time and his use of examples that he incorporated throughout the essay.

In the feature article “Brainology”, the author, Carol Dweck explains that there are consequences of praising children for their work, they is also different types of mindsets that enable a person’s development. She focuses on two types of mindsets. The first mindset is fixed where a person believes that if she or he is smart, they don’t need to put effort to be successful. The author explains on page 3 of the article that sometimes society encourages this mindset by using words such as smart , intelligent which sometimes creates confidence , however, when the assignment gets difficult then a fixed mindset person loses confidence so they stop working hard to complete the task. The second mindset is when a person believes that working hard to

Several tests of research were conducted on students of the two different grade levels, elementary and middle school. Two University students, Lisa Blackwell of Columbia University, and Kali H. Trzesniewski from Stanford University conducted research to observe that once the work became difficult, and the grading became a lot harder to please, how their grades were going to be affected. Parents or guardians accustomed their children to compliments on their intellect,

Praise given needs to be uplifting and confidence boosting because the child will be more motivated to try harder and do better.In the article “Motivating children” by Leah Davis explains, “Provide a caring, supportive environment where children are respected and feel a sense of belonging”(Leah Davis). The author is trying to say that parents praise should make the child feel good about themselves. When a child feels encouraged then they will be motivated to do better. Praise needs to make a child want to do better and grow from mistakes. Other people think that the more praise the better. They think it is better to give more praise because it makes the parent feel good about them selve and the child will be motivated. In the paragraph Help Kids Feel Good About Themselves states, “Kids who feel good about themselves are less likely to be pressured into doing things they don’t want to do”(Diane Ryles). Kids need to feel good about themselves in order to do well and work hard. Children need to be motivated so when they get to the top they continue to work just as hard. Parents need to make themselves make sense so the child will understand. Another way of thinking about this is that kids need to be given a good mindset. Some people think that kids need to have a good mindset to improve at anything. When a child has a growth mindset they are more likely to

The kids that are well-prepared get a higher grade than the kids that aren't on the first few tests. When this happens it starts to bring up the idea that being good at math is a genetic trait. Students get this idea because they are raised to believe that you're born smart or dumb and there's nothing you can change about it. With their reasearch, Dweck and her colleagues showed that this idea is wrong. Their study shows that if you explain to the students that they can change their intelligence by working hard, it changes their outlook on themselves.

Furthermore, children enjoy receiving praise to and will seek it out at every available opportunity. For example, if a child receives a trophy for one event that they participated in, they might expect the same reward for everything that they do in the future. Parents do not want to let down their children's expectations and now demand that their children receive rewards whenever possible. Therefore, the reason children and parents have come to expect that the children are rewarded are quite understandable. Yet this is also the basis for the so-called youth epidemic of narcissism.

Two studies were completed to compare the relative effectiveness of attribution strategy with persuasion strategy in changing behavior. The first study was an attempt to teach fifth graders to not litter and clean up after other classmates. The attribution group was told they are neat and tidy, while the persuasion group was told they should be neat and tidy. The results found that attribution was more effective in modifying behavior compared to persuasion. The second study determined if attribution or persuasion is more effective for achievement in math and self-esteem. It also studied whether attribution of ability is as effective as attribution of motivation. This study attributed to second graders to do well in math proved more effective than persuasion or control groups.

When instilled in the young, pride is a building block of a healthy self-esteem. This is important and necessary to promote a positive self-worth. A child needs to hear that he or she has done something well. Praise will reinforce positive characteristics and does not focus on limitations as it builds pride. He or she should be proud of what they have worked for. Winning a competition is not as important as doing one’s best. When someone does their best they try and strive to do even better just winning sets limits. Without a healthy self-worth, the child feels inferior and shame. When a child feels proud of their accomplishments, they feel good about themself. This will encourage the child to continue to perform at his best. Praise for accomplishments fosters pride. Praise can come from a parent, friend, teacher, or even one self. It is also important to teach the child to