Transcript Success For Life: What’s Really Important

The Problem
With Praise
Clive Lambert
September 2010
 A Columbia University survey learned that 85% of
American parents think that it’s important to tell their
kids that they’re smart.
 A large percentage of gifted students severely
underestimate their own abilities and adopt lower
standards for success. They expect less of themselves.
Attribution Theory - Weiner
To what do you attribute your success
or failure?
•Luck
•Ability
•Difficulty of Task
•Effort
Attributing the Cause of Events
 I just can’t do this stuff. I’m no good at it
 Lack of ability
 I didn’t do so well, but I knew I wouldn’t. I didn’t study
hard enough.
 Lack of effort
 I didn’t know what the heck was going on and I got a B.
The teacher must not have read my paper!
 Luck
Research suggests that teaching
children and adults to attribute their
successes and failures to internal,
controllable events such as effort leads
to people developing more control over
situations and their life choices.
Carol S. Dweck, Research Study
Effects of Praise
 400 5th grade students, New York
 Randomly divided into two groups
 Given individual nonverbal IQ test consisting of puzzles
(easy)
 Group 1. Praised for intelligence
 You scored ____. You must be smart at this.
 Group 2. Praised for effort
 You scored ____. You must have worked really hard.
Part 2 of study
 Students given a choice
 More difficult test but you’ll learn a lot
 Easy test, similar to the first one
 Group 1 (intelligence)
 Majority chose the easy test
 Group 2 (effort)
 90% chose the more difficult test
Part 3
 Very difficult test (2 yrs above level)
 No choices. All students failed the test
 Group 1 (intelligence)– were miserable
 Failure interpreted as evidence they weren’t really smart
 Group 2 (effort)– stayed engaged in the test, very persistent
 Failure interpreted as their lack of focusing hard enough. Some
even said this was their “favorite test”
Part 4
 Tests easy – as the first
 Group 1 (intelligence)
 Scored about 20% lower than first test
 Group 2 (effort)
 Increased scores by about 30%
Conclusions
 Emphasizing effort gives students a variable that they can
control
 Praising intelligence sends a message “Look smart – don’t
risk mistakes.”
Theories of Intelligence
(perception)
Dweck – in our self perception of what intelligence is like, we
either hold an ‘entity theory’ or ‘incremental theory’
of that intelligence *
* Also called “fixed” or
“growth” mindsets
Entity Theory
Intelligence is Fixed
 Important to appear smart with little effort
 Need to achieve for specific performance goals, (which
assess an ability)
 Low risk takers
Entity (fixed mindset)
 Failure will be perceived as evidence of low
intelligence
 Develop goals based on being the best, or avoiding
failure
 May believe circumstances are beyond their control
and give up
 Past or present success does not ensure future success
 Those with success history may be most vulnerable
(learned helplessness)
Incremental Theory (Growth)
Intelligence can be Changed
 Enjoy challenge even if makes them appear less smart
 Learning goals and persistence are valued (mastering new
things)
 Ready for next challenge rather
than repeating success
Incremental (growth mindset)
 Remain interested in learning and challenge even after
failure
 Belief that Effort (through increased learning and strategy
development) will increase intelligence
Failure
Dweck’s Conclusions:
“Praise for intelligence rather than effort creates
vulnerability in high-ability students that does not
show up until they experience setbacks and failure”
So What About
Self Esteem?
Self Esteem?
 15,000 scholarly articles 1970-2000 supporting connection
between self-esteem and praise
 Reviews in 2003 – only 200 met rigorous scientific
standards
 None of these showed the connection
“The surest path to high self-esteem is to be successful
at something one perceived would be difficult! Each
time we steal a student’s struggle, we steal the
opportunity for them to build self-confidence. They
must learn to do difficult things to feel good about
themselves.”
Sylvia Rimm
Wulf-Uwe Meyer Study
(Self esteem specialist)
 Only children under age 7 take praise at face-value
By age 12, children believe that
 Teacher praise is seen as evidence that a student needs
help and encouragement and lacks ability
 Teacher criticism was interpreted as showing belief in
student’s ability to do better
Praise = Pressure
 Liberal use of unqualified praise leads to students’
questioning themselves
 Is this right? Is this OK?
 Seeking reassurance
 Must keep up “image” to keep the praise coming –
become “praise junkies”
Results of Over-Praising (Dweck)
 Become risk-averse
 Lack perceived autonomy
 Image maintenance becomes main concern
 May lie or cheat to maintain image
 Lack strategies for handling failure
Enron & Malcolm Gladwell
 Collapse of Enron due to talent obsessed culture
 Executives celebrated and rewarded for their innate talent
 Rather lie than admit to problems and work to fix them
Failure to live up to one’s
potential may be
associated with an
inability to take
realistic risks.
Life = Risk
Benefits of Risk Taking
•Increases confidence about abilities
•Increases self-efficacy
•Develops skills for managing fears
•Provides practice in decision making
•Opportunity for growth and leadership
Dr. Robert Cloninger –
Brain Research
 Ability to repeatedly respond to failure by exerting effort
develops persistence and ability to delay gratification
 Brain actually develops circuitry for persistence with
intermittent reinforcement
 Missing with constant reward (praise)
“Parents should not shield or try to
protect children from risks or hard
work. Parents also need to allow
children to experience the tensions
and stress that rise from challenging
ideas and high expectations.”
Olszewski-Kubilius, 2000
Extraordinary achievement
is primarily attributed to
nonintellectual factors,
especially perseverance.
In Risk-Friendly Environments
•
Mistakes are viewed as opportunities
•
Goals are stressed over procedures
•
We are actively seeking change
•
We are playful
•
We expect individuals to set their own
goals
•
We allow people to choose their own
risks
But shouldn’t we
praise our kids?
 All Praise is NOT equal
 Praise CAN be effective
 Use the right kind of praise
 Use at the right time
 Not confused with encouragement
 Not confused with manipulation
Good Praise Practice
 Be specific
 Constructive feedback
 Be sincere
 No empty praise
 Don’t praise undeserved success!
 Praise the process not the person
 Strategies, decisions, work accomplished
 Praise at the END of the work process
Helping our Children Meet Success:
Can We Do?
 Reward effort – not perfection
 Reward risk and progress
 Applaud persistence
 Break tasks down into small steps
 Acknowledge ‘learning’ not ‘work’
 Honour time invested
 Help them learn to prioritize
What
Praise Statements 1
 I like the way you invested time in the way you tackled
that problem.
 I am impressed by how you thought hard about which
method you were going to use and why it was appropriate.
 I like the way you tried to home in on what the question
was really asking for: the way you said “What is it I need to
find out?”
Praise Statements 2
 I like the fact that you didn’t give up when the first few
attempts didn’t work out.
 The amount of effort you’re putting in is evident in your
improved test marks.
 Risking being wrong is okay, we learn from our mistakes.
 Success is the sum of small efforts repeated daily.
 That was too easy for you, I’m going to give you something
more challenging now to enjoy.
 If you found that work rather too easy for you, how could you
change the questions to make them more challenging?
Praise Statements 3
 Well done for your persistence, after missing a few
chances you scored a great try.
 That success is worth so much more when you consider
the work that went in to it.
 I saw you struggling towards the start but now you’ve
cracked it.
 This is a very difficult problem, even for me. But you’ve
thought long and hard about it and because you didn’t
give up, you’ve come up with a solution.
 Well done, I can tell that you have been practising your
pronunciation
Praise Statements 4
 It was really good to see how you overcame the problems you
encountered.
 I can see from the finished results that you have mastered the
skill really well. Did you practice it at home?
 Last week you couldn’t do this but look at how well you have
done today.
 You have put a lot of effort into your explanation, now it needs
details about places and good examples
 You’ve worked really well. It was good to see you making a solid
effort and being keen to learn something new.
Praise Statements 5
 Well done for your persistent effort , which I can see from all the
corrections you made.
 I know you found it difficult to answer this question, but you
managed to make reference to a number of case studies. Next
time aim for more detailed facts for each example.
 By selecting information carefully and weighing up the
arguments you have enhanced the quality of your evaluation
skills.
 I like the way you used different sources to establish key points.
 A lot of thought and effort has gone into this assignment and
this is highlighted by the information you have gathered and
the way you presented your work
Praise Statements 6
 I know some of this assessment was difficult, by
persevering at it and following instructions you performed
well.
 Good effort, you’ve given the question a lot of thought,
exploring different points of view.
 I’m impressed with the way you are prepared to explore
ideas and develop your own response.
 It’s great to see you reading more challenging texts.
Praise Statements 7
 ‘A person who never made a mistake, never tried anything
new’.
 ‘The harder you work, the luckier you get’
 I know some of this piece was difficult, but by sticking at it
and by following instructions you performed well in the
end.
 I like the way you challenged yourself by taking on a more
difficult part.
Highest level (Outstanding learner- displays a near full range
of growth mindset characteristics) (10% learners at most)
 The pupil shows great resilience when tacking their work. They
try a full range of available methods and strategies and persist
with the work even when it is difficult for them only asking the
teacher to suggest another method or to affirm what they are
trying to do. They take real care when presenting their work and
actively seek ways in which they can improve or learn. This type
of pupil will seek out challenging tasks and will often work
outside of the normal school time in order to satisfy their desire
to learn. They tend to care more about what they are learning
than the marks they get, although the marks are important
they are not the ‘be all and end all.’
Next to highest level (Good leaner – displays most growth
mindset characteristics) (25%-30% of learners)
 The pupil generally shows resilience with their work. They will
attempt one or two ways of solving a problem or tackling their
work and need some encouragement when the work is difficult.
They ask the teacher to help point them in the right direction
but generally can work things out for themselves. They present
their work well and appropriately for their ability and
sometimes ask how it can be improved. This type of pupil will
take on a challenging task with some encouragement and will
sometimes do work outside of school hours to see a
project/piece through. They enjoy learning and although they
value the marks they get they generally care more about what
they are learning
Mid level (Quietly co-operative learner – displays some growth
and some fixed mindset characteristics) (45% - 55% of learners)
 The pupil shows some resilience but is inclined to become discouraged
when the work gets more difficult. They will try one way of doing
something and if that doesn’t work will eventually seek help by asking
a friend or the teacher. They need a lot of encouragement and
reassurance to keep them going. This type of pupil can often present
work well, because they have learned that you can satisfy the teacher
that way but it often lacks depth or thought. They will accept advice
but rarely seek it out. They will make improvements when it has been
pointed out but only because they feel they have to. This type of pupil
is reluctant to take on challenging tasks for fear of failing and looking
bad in front of his/her peer groups. They are often focussed on the
outcome rather than the process. They like to score good marks in
easier tests because it makes them look good in front of others.
Low level (Very passive learner – displays mainly fixed
mindset characteristics) (10%– 15%)
 This pupil will probably do their work, but only because they
have to. They show little resilience. They will give up easily
saying it is too hard, or nor not even get started because it looks
hard. They are very reliant on the teacher to show them how to
do it, or even do it for them. The presentation is satisfactory but
is more often barely acceptable but perceived as better than
nothing. They will listen to advice but the teacher has to follow
it up to make sure it has been acted upon. They never take on
challenging tasks because they do not want to look bad in front
of their peers. They might care about the outcome, but prefer
easy tasks where they can gain better marks and keep up their
appearance of looking ‘smart’.
Resources
 Social & Emotional Needs of the Gifted: What Do
We Really Know? Prufrock Press, NAGC
 Self-Theories: Their role in motivation,
personality and development. Carol Dweck
Philadelphia: Psychology Press 1999
 Mindset: The New Psychology of Success,
Random House (February 28, 2006)
 The Problem with Praise
http://www.onpointradio.org/shows/2007/02/20070216_b
_main.asp
 Why Praise Can be Bad For Kids by Anne Pleshette
Murphy & Jennifer Allen
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/AmericanFamily/story?id=287789
6&page=1
 How Not To Talk To Your Kids: The Inverse Power of
Praise, by Po Bronson
http://nymag.com/news/features/27840
 The Effort Effect
Stanford Magazine, March/April 2007
http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2007/marapr/f
eatures/dweck.html
 A Motivational Approach to Reasoning, Resilience
and Responsibility (chapter of book)
http://aim.psch.uic.edu/documents/Good.DweckCh.pdf
 Stanford University Research Report
http://newsservice.stanford.edu/news/2007/february7/dweck020707.html
Research Works by Carol S. Dweck
 Mueller, C. M. & Dweck, C. S. (1998). Intelligence praise
can undermine motivation and performance. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology ,75, 33-52.
 Dweck, C.S. (1998). The development of early selfconceptions: Their relevance for motivational processes.
In J. Heckhausen & C.S. Dweck (Eds.), Motivation and
self-regulation across the life span. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.