Praise the Effort

We continue to look for ways to give your child reinforcement and recognition.  Again we dip into Carol Dweck’s book

Mindset.

If you want to give meaningful positive reinforcement, consider this.

Dweck sent four research assistants into the New York school system’s fifth grade classrooms.  One child from each class was selected to participate in a nonverbal IQ test consisting of a series of puzzles that were easy enough for all the children to do with relative ease. 

Once finished, the children were randomly placed in one of two groups. 

In one group each child was praised for their intelligence...“You must be smart at this. “ 

In the other group each child was praised for their effort...“You must have worked really hard.”

Next the two groups were given a choice of tests.  Each group was told they would learn a lot from attempting the puzzles, and some were easy and some were hard.

Of the students in the group who were praised for their effort, 90% chose the harder set of puzzles.  They used perseverance, and exercised confidence in their determination to see how much could be accomplished.

Of those who were praised for their intelligence, the majority chose the easy test.  Why?  In part, these students received praise for being smart before they were challenged to demonstrate their true skill level. 

Praise your child for making an effort.   As an adult, I still appreciate that kind of recognition.

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Carolyn Biggs