Praising effort, not outcome, has become a rule but it is a sign data-driven advice has gone too far
When I was a child, you heard “good job!” quite a lot. Successful double in little league? “Good job!” 93% on a maths test? “Good job!” In contrast, the phrase “Good effort” was reserved for ... lesser things. You struck out but ... you tried hard. That’s a good effort, but not a good job.
The underlying reason for the praise shift is, more or less, based on data. Perhaps the most famous and widely cited paper is “Praise for intelligence can undermine children’s motivation and performance” published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in 1998. Based on this and related research, Dweck introduced the world to the idea of the “growth mindset”. It’s broader than this one element, but a key aspect is the idea of focusing on children’s efforts, rather than their ability.
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