Why Hong Kong parents shouldn’t pile on the praise for results – concentrate on effort

Part of a parent’s role is to praise and encourage children when they sing beautifully, dance sublimely, swim fast or top their class – and even when they don’t. We are supposed to be our offspring’s tireless champions, relentless deliverers of applause.

However, a study, published in Psychological Science, co-authored by scientists from the United States, Canada, and Lulu Chen and Li Zhao of Hangzhou Normal University in China, suggests glib, sweeping praise should be replaced with a more considered, circumspect approach.

Four ways diet could help reduce ADHD symptoms in children

Children celebrated by their parents for being smart are more likely to cheat in tests, the study also found.

“We found that three- and five-year-old children cheat more when they are told they are smart than when they are told that they performed well,” says Professor Gail D. Heyman of the Department of Psychology at University of California, and one of the academics involved.

“We believe telling them they are smart makes them feel that others are judging something important about them based on their performance. This leads to performance pressure, which then increases the temptation to cheat,” she says.

“Our study shows that praise is more complex than it seems,” says Zhao. “Praising a child’s ability implies that the specific behaviour that is commented on stems from stable traits related to one’s ability, such as smartness, [and] thus creates pressure to perform well to live up to others’ expectations, even if they need to cheat to do so.

“This is different than other forms of praise, such as praising specific behaviours or praising effort, which does not imply that the child is expected to consistently perform well, and therefore does not have similar negative effects as ability praise.”