Houvourases on praise

Published
by
JohnL
on 2 March 2007
in Behavior Management and The press
.

Over on Behavior Concepts Rayna and Andrew Houvouras have a good take down of a weak piece of popular press reporting. They cover an article entitled “How Not to Talk to Your Kids: The Inverse Power of Praise” by Po Bronson and published in the magazine New York. Following the work of motivation psychologist Carol Dweck, the article paints a dim view of the value of praising behavior, overlooking the extensive research showing that specific, contingent praise produces substantial changes in behavior. The Houvourases correct the record. Read their analysis.

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1 Response to “Houvourases on praise”

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  1. 1 Miss Profe
    3 March 2007 at 5:20 pm

    For me, empty praise, like empty self-esteem, is useless. If we’re going to say, “Good job!” then say what is good. I also think that we should ever be afraid to tell our students the bad and the ugly. Sometimes students need to hear it straight, no chaser. Of course, this approach depends on the age and maturity of our students. My students know that when I praise them, it is for worthy efforts, and they also know when they’ve not done their best and when they’ve “messed up.”

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