The Power (and Peril) of Praising Your Kids:

Scholars from Reed College and Stanford reviewed over 150 praise studies. Their meta-analysis determined that praised students become risk-averse and lack perceived autonomy. The scholars found consistent correlations between a liberal use of praise and students‚Äô ‚Äúshorter task persistence, more eye-checking with the teacher, and inflected speech such that answers have the intonation of questions.‚Äù Dweck‚Äôs research on overpraised kids strongly suggests that image maintenance becomes their primary concern‚Äîthey are more competitive and more interested in tearing others down. A raft of very alarming studies illustrates this…