”The trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined
by praise than saved by criticism.” -Norman Vincent Peale In
Part 1 about motivation, we learned how intrinsic motivation,
the built-in desire to learn and to grow, is far more powerful
than extrinsic motivation at sustaining good habits. One of the
hotly debated topics in the field concerns the use of praise.
Does praise help motivate kids to work harder or does it do just
the opposite? Although research about the perils of too much
praise on children’s learning is not new, it is so important
that it bears repeating. Here’s the punchline: praise may do
more harm than good. One of the leaders of this inquiry is
psychologist Carol Dweck at Stanford University. Her original
article entitled “Praise for Intelligence Can Undermine
Children’s Motivation and Performance” was published with
Claudia Mueller from Columbia University in 1998, and it created
quite a stir since the prevailing belief at the time was that
praise helped increase motivation. Cont