TY - JOUR
T1 - On feeding those hungry for praise
T2 - Person praise backfires in children with low self-esteem
AU - Brummelman, Eddie
AU - Thomaes, Sander
AU - Overbeek, Geertjan
AU - De Castro, Bram Orobio
AU - Van Den Hout, Marcel A.
AU - Bushman, Brad J.
PY - 2014/2/1
Y1 - 2014/2/1
N2 - Child-rearing experts have long believed that praise is an effective means to help children with low self-esteem feel better about themselves. But should one praise these children for who they are, or for how they behave? Study 1 (N = 357) showed that adults are inclined to give children with low self-esteem more person praise (i.e., praise for personal qualities) but less process praise (i.e., praise for behavior) than they give children with high self-esteem. This inclination may backfire, however. Study 2 (N = 313; Mage = 10.4 years) showed that person praise, but not process praise, predisposes children, especially those with low self-esteem, to feel ashamed following failure. Consistent with attribution theory, person praise seems to make children attribute failure to the self. Together, these findings suggest that adults, by giving person praise, may foster in children with low self-esteem the very emotional vulnerability they are trying to prevent. © 2013 American Psychological Association.
AB - Child-rearing experts have long believed that praise is an effective means to help children with low self-esteem feel better about themselves. But should one praise these children for who they are, or for how they behave? Study 1 (N = 357) showed that adults are inclined to give children with low self-esteem more person praise (i.e., praise for personal qualities) but less process praise (i.e., praise for behavior) than they give children with high self-esteem. This inclination may backfire, however. Study 2 (N = 313; Mage = 10.4 years) showed that person praise, but not process praise, predisposes children, especially those with low self-esteem, to feel ashamed following failure. Consistent with attribution theory, person praise seems to make children attribute failure to the self. Together, these findings suggest that adults, by giving person praise, may foster in children with low self-esteem the very emotional vulnerability they are trying to prevent. © 2013 American Psychological Association.
KW - Failure
KW - Person praise
KW - Process praise
KW - Self-esteem
KW - Shame
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84893377587&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1037/a0031917
DO - 10.1037/a0031917
M3 - Article
C2 - 23421441
SN - 0096-3445
VL - 143
SP - 9
EP - 14
JO - Journal of Experimental Psychology. General
JF - Journal of Experimental Psychology. General
IS - 1
ER -