That "meant well" is often the opposite of "made good" and that is reflected in the praise of children, and I am particularly interested in working with students. To address this issue carefully, I refer important theses of the paper by Nicola Schmidt: "Praise, hard." (SZ 23 March 2010, p. 16), with the subtitle: "Psychologists warn: Excessive popularity children may even harm, they recommend more sincerity in the nursery ":
first More important than any praise is that children themselves their experiences is good.
second Positive behavior should we not again want to reinforce with praise, because this praise will distract from the matter itself (- gain> attention). The same applies to the things children of their own accord.
third Also, blame is not very effective - it is better to talk to children about the needs of others.
4th Overly praised children are uncertain (-> ask with age, whether they need to be comforted really).
5th One would rather the way of problems to approach than praise a certain "skill"; boys tolerate praise the skill but apparently better than girls.
6th Excessive praise children confronted with unrealistic expectations of adults.
7th Economical praise is more effective than frequent praise.
8th Economical praise makes children dependent on the drug praise.
9th Comparative praise is problematic: it makes children in poor losers and represents the victory in the competition before the search for the cause.
10th Children should know that praise does not reflect its value as a person.
cited or mentioned authors:
Herbert Renz-Polster (Heidelberg)
Joan Grusec (Toronto)
Carol Dweck (University Standord )
Henderlong Jennifer (Reed College, Oregon)
Mark Lepper (ditto)
Emrah Düzel (Magdeburg)
Leann Birch (University of Pennsylvania)
Herbert Scheithauer (Berlin)
