"Good Job, You're So Smart": The Effects of Inconsistency of Praise Type on Young Children's Motivation

Autor/inn/en	Zentall, Shannon R.; Morris, Bradley J.
Titel	"Good Job, You're So Smart": The Effects of Inconsistency of Praise Type on Young Children's Motivation
Quelle	In: Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 107 (2010) 2, S.155-163 (9 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0022-0965
DOI	10.1016/j.jecp.2010.04.015
Schlagwörter	Persistence; Motivation; Positive Reinforcement; Young Children; Feedback (Response); Self Evaluation (Individuals); Kindergarten; Child Psychology; Experimental Psychology + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausdauer; psychologische; Motivation (psychologisch); Frühe Kindheit; Kinderpsychologie; Experimentelle Psychologie
Abstract	Previous research has demonstrated that generic praise ("good drawer") is related to children giving up after failure because failure implies the lack of a critical trait (e.g., drawing ability). Conversely, nongeneric praise ("good job drawing") is related to mastery motivation because it implies that success is related to effort. Yet children may receive a mixture of these praise types (i.e., inconsistent praise), the effects of which are unclear. We tested how inconsistent praise influenced two components of motivation: self-evaluation and persistence. Kindergarteners (N = 135) were randomly assigned to one of five conditions in which consistency of praise type was varied. After two failure scenarios, children reported self-evaluations and persistence. Results indicated that more nongeneric praise related linearly to greater motivation, yet self-evaluation and persistence were impacted differently by inconsistent praise types. Hearing even a small amount of generic praise reduced persistence, whereas hearing a small amount of nongeneric praise preserved self-evaluation. (Contains 2 figures.) (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10