Parental Praise and Child Development Findings

Study Overview

The study focused on caregiver-child interactions, emphasizing the impact of parental praise on children's motivational frameworks. Observations were made over 90-minute videotaped sessions during typical daily activities of the participants. At ages 7-8, children's beliefs about intelligence and morality were assessed through questionnaires.

Key Findings

• Parental Praise Patterns: On average, parental comments included 3% as praise, with process praise (18%) and person praise (16%) showing balanced proportions.
  Mean percentages for praise types were:

  • Process: 0.59

  • Person: 0.45

  • Other: 1.97

  • Total: 3.01

• Gender Differences: Boys received 24.4% process praise compared to girls who received 103%. This disparity illustrates different feedback dynamics based on gender.

• Link Between Praise and Motivation: Increased process praise correlates with an incremental belief framework in children, where effort is perceived as essential for success. Correlation coefficients ranged from 0.26 to 0.35, implying a strong relationship between praise type and children's beliefs about ability and morality.

Strengths and Weaknesses of the Study

• Strengths:

  • The findings were consistent across various methods, reinforcing the theory of praise and motivation.

  • Researchers maintained objectivity by being unaware of specific aspects being observed, which minimized biases.

• Weaknesses:

  • The sample consisted of only 53 parent-child pairs from Chicago, questioning the generalizability of the results.

  • Ethical concerns arose as participants were misled about the study's focus.

  • Observer effects could have altered parental behavior, impacting the authenticity of the data.

Conclusions

A notable relationship exists between the type of praise used by parents and the development of a child’s motivational framework. While process praise supports an incremental framework, the study did not find a similar link for person praise leading to a fixed framework.

Implications for Practice

The study underscores the importance of praising effort rather than ability. When children receive praise focused on their actions, they’re more likely to engage in learning and improvement rather than feeling limited by their perceived abilities.