The Effects of Praise on Children - Research Paper Example

The Effects of Praise on Children This paper expounds on the effects of praise on childrenfrom a psychological standpoint. That is the outcome of praise on children; especially the influence it has on their behavior, either negative or positive. The concern about what short term and long term effects praise has on children has attained great attention, and available literature presents dissimilar views on this issue. There is a great contention amidst authors on this controversial topic. Authors such as Kohn are opposed to praise whereas Strain and Joseph support it. According to Korn, praises make children quite dependent on adults for commendation to take on particular behavior. In fact, children who are reliant on praises to discern what behavior is upheld in society are unsure what behavior to emulate. Therefore, such children are quite indecisive and highly unlikely to emulate a positive behavior without having been praised for it in previous scenarios. Nevertheless, praises make children attune to rely on approval from adults. Children lose their natural way of learning and differentiating between what is wrong and what is right. Indeed, children who are used to praises use previous scenarios to judge what behavior is worthwhile depending on whether it was praised or not. It is noteworthy that children who are reliant on praises to discern worthwhile and wrongful behavior can be easily misled; they do not have a firm foundation on emulating good manners (Shaffer 322). In general, the more children are praised, the more their behavior narrows down into an unjustified judgment that particular behaviors are simply right because their parents praised them whereas the rest of them are wrong since no praises were showered on them. In other scenarios, praises on children make them unsure of their accomplishments since they do not recognize when they have done good unless they are showered with praises. Korn also clarifies that if children become dependent on praise, they will become ignorant of other positive behaviors and only uphold those they were commended through praise. A study conducted by Jon Grusec shows that the children who were praised for their generosity in the past have proved not to be generous on the daily basis but will only display the act of generosity to get praises from the adults. Thus, the value of generosity is compromised. This show that children eventually become solely dependent on praises to an extent of faking good manners to get them. Recent findings have shown that praise on children undermine their achievement. It was discovered that those children who were praised after achieving a certain task fail to excel in the second task, as compared to others who were not praised in the first task. It also puts them on pressure to continue with the good work; hence, they are less likely to take risks in anything, become less creative and fail the task (Shaffer 322). According to Korn, praises should be used sparingly especially when there is a major achievement worth praising, but not on a daily basis for simple and obvious achievements. Although praises boost children’s positive behavior and give them motivation, they should be done away with given that negative effects of praise outweigh the positive ones; thus, it is advisable to go for the unconditional support of a child as opposed to praises. This is by loving them unconditionally, inculcating good values, imparting them with the necessary skills that will make them less dependent on praises, help handle new and challenging tasks and take risks hence bringing out their real personality, as opposed to children who are subjected to praises. Engaging a child in a discussion would be better than just praising them. In essence, interaction with children would place them in a better position to understand what is expected from them and what behaviors they should do away with. For instance, asking questions about why they behaved in a certain way will cultivate the culture of being honest rather than faking good behavior just to fetch praises. The author is also of the opinion that parents should give a general comment on a particular behavior as opposed to an outright praising. It is better to just comment on exactly what you saw rather than the general term like “good job” since this has proved to be sensible and the child will be proud of what he did. Furthermore, giving feedback on what a child has done instead of judging it is more helpful in a child’s development. Quintessentially, when a child has done a generous deed it would be better to explain to him that the generosity that s/he showed towards somebody was good as opposed to a simple praise “good job” or “well done.” Korn emphasizes that children should be given the opportunity to evaluate what is worth emulating or not without conditional praises. The act of self-evaluation in children is what is important as this will help children know when they have done right or wrong; this is the joy that is taken away by adults when they praise their children (McNeil and Hembree-Kigin 59). On the other hand, Strain and Joseph agree with the fact that there are many incidences where praise has been used inappropriately; they are quick to point out that Korn misinterpreted the importance of praise to children as he does not provide concrete evidence of the negative impact of praise to children. Hence, they are taking a platform to criticize his work. They side with Korn that praising a child in order to influence or make him/her behave in a certain manner is wrong. They criticize an argument on Korn’s article that supports conversing with a child as opposed to just praising them. They point out that the aspect of conversing with a child can go hand in hand with praise since they are compatible. Although they agree with Korn that praising children with an aim of influencing their behavior is wrong, they are of the opinion that praises can be used to impart creativity and other positive aspects, such as good decision-making and good problem solving skills. They oppose the point of Korn’s works that praises put a child in a vicious circle where the more praises they receive, the more they become dependent on these praises. They point out the fact that it is possible to reduce praise overtime. They oppose Korn’s argument on the grounds that his position is biased since it is structured in such a way that depicts praises from a negative perspective. Nevertheless, both Strain and Joseph claim that praise should be used sparingly in the worthwhile contexts, in moderation. Nevertheless, Strain and Joseph are supporting Korn’s argument to some extent since it embracez the necessity to give children room for realization of their accomplishments. In fundamental nature, children achieve fulfillment by priding themselves on their achievements (McNeil and Hembree-Kigin 59). In conclusion, the argument of Korn’s article is more reliable since he has provided evidence and superior examples from the experiments that were conducted. On the other hand, the article by Strain and Joseph is more of a critique of Korn’s work and fails to provide evidence to support their claims. Works cited McNeil, Cheryl B, and Toni L. Hembree-Kigin. Parent-Child Interaction Therapy. New York, NY: Springer publications, 2003. Print. Shaffer, David R. Social and Personality Development. New York, NY: Cengage Learning, 2008. Print. Read More