An Amazingly Insightful Post

Walk the halls of any elementary school somewhere in the United States and you will hear adults’ exclamations over a child’s wonderful abilities or behavior. Andrew made an “amazingly beautiful collage.” Sally is “remarkably talented” at science. Researchers and parents have begun to wonder: Are we taking praise of our children too far? Experiments recently reported in the journal, Psychological Science suggest that maybe we are.

In research entitled “That’s Not Just Beautiful—That’s Incredibly Beautiful!” : The Adverse Impact of Inflated Praise on Children With Low Self-Esteem Eddie Brummelman, a visiting psychologist at Ohio State University and the lead author of the study, found that using caution when dishing out inflated praise is better than exaggerated attempts to make children feel good about themselves. When directed at children displaying low self-esteem, inflated praise has an especially negative, and paradoxical effect.

Teachers have been trained that they should praise children, to “fill their cups,” showcasing student behaviors to make each individual feel unique and valued. Brummelan’s results suggest that using caution when dishing out inflated praise may be a better approach. When such praise is directed at children displaying low self-esteem, for example, inflated praise has a paradoxical effect. Rather than pumping the child up and making them feel more prepared for the challenges that stand before them, the praise actually results in a decrease in challenge seeking behavior. Within the academic setting this means that they are more likely to shy away from “crucial learning experiences.” To make matters worse, these are the children to whom teachers are most likely to provide inflated praise. The researchers found that children with high self-esteem responded with an increase in challenge seeking behavior when lavished with inflated praise.

What is a teacher to do? It seems to call for a shift in focus. Instead of drowning students presenting with low self-esteem with inflated praise, focus on providing such individuals with sincere observations. Assist these children in painting a picture of who they are through detailed and specific recognition. Instead of telling them that they are an amazingly talented artist, share with them that you like how they used blue to accent the flowers in their most recent art project. Instead of announcing to the entire class that Billy is an “Ernest Hemingway in the making.” Pull the student aside and share with them your favorite excerpt from The Old Man and the Sea and compare it to one of their well-crafted paragraphs. In other words, when making an investment in a child’s self-worth, make sure it is meaningful.

That being said, don’t throw out your adjective laden phraseology just yet. The researchers found that children with high self-esteem responded with an increase in challenge seeking behavior when lavished with inflated praise. The key is knowing your students well enough to know who it helps and who it hinders