Thursday, April 5, 2018
From children utters the first word moments, you will give praise about their cleverness. It’s also when they learns count to 10 or write their name.
But praising your child by saying "you're so clever," too often can be bad. According to a study published in Psychological Science, children tend to cheat if you say they are smart.
Citing the Todays Parent page, researchers include Dr. Kang Lee from Dr. Eric Jackman of the Institute of Child Study at the University of Toronto, Canada researches 300 children between the ages of three and five. The children are then told to guess whether the card has a number higher or lower than six.
In the early stages, some children are told they are "very smart" when they get answer correctly, while others are told they are "doing well right now" or not at all praised. At the next stage, the testers leave the room and tell each child not to look at the card. Children who were told they were smart were more likely to take a peek when they thought nobody was watching.
Researchers conclude that children know the difference between being smart and doing something smart. When adults praise their children's innate abilities rather than their sole appearance, it makes them inclined to uphold a positive perception of their intelligence and willingly cheat to do so.
This is not the first time researchers have found the negative impact associated with praising children's intelligence. An earlier study found that telling children that they are smart has undermined their motivation to achieve it in the future.
There is no harm in giving praise to your child when they do a good job. But compliments that focus on their ability or character can put a lot of pressure on children to undergo the compliment. It is best to praise children for their efforts.
Source : Tempo.co
But praising your child by saying "you're so clever," too often can be bad. According to a study published in Psychological Science, children tend to cheat if you say they are smart.
Citing the Todays Parent page, researchers include Dr. Kang Lee from Dr. Eric Jackman of the Institute of Child Study at the University of Toronto, Canada researches 300 children between the ages of three and five. The children are then told to guess whether the card has a number higher or lower than six.
In the early stages, some children are told they are "very smart" when they get answer correctly, while others are told they are "doing well right now" or not at all praised. At the next stage, the testers leave the room and tell each child not to look at the card. Children who were told they were smart were more likely to take a peek when they thought nobody was watching.
Researchers conclude that children know the difference between being smart and doing something smart. When adults praise their children's innate abilities rather than their sole appearance, it makes them inclined to uphold a positive perception of their intelligence and willingly cheat to do so.
This is not the first time researchers have found the negative impact associated with praising children's intelligence. An earlier study found that telling children that they are smart has undermined their motivation to achieve it in the future.
There is no harm in giving praise to your child when they do a good job. But compliments that focus on their ability or character can put a lot of pressure on children to undergo the compliment. It is best to praise children for their efforts.
Source : Tempo.co