Department of Psychology, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI 49401, USA.
J Exp Child Psychol. 2010 Oct;107(2):155-63. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2010.04.015. Epub 2010 Jun 8.
Previous research has demonstrated that generic praise ("good drawer") is related to children giving up after failure because failure implies the lack of a critical trait (e.g., drawing ability). Conversely, nongeneric praise ("good job drawing") is related to mastery motivation because it implies that success is related to effort. Yet children may receive a mixture of these praise types (i.e., inconsistent praise), the effects of which are unclear. We tested how inconsistent praise influenced two components of motivation: self-evaluation and persistence. Kindergarteners (N=135) were randomly assigned to one of five conditions in which consistency of praise type was varied. After two failure scenarios, children reported self-evaluations and persistence. Results indicated that more nongeneric praise related linearly to greater motivation, yet self-evaluation and persistence were impacted differently by inconsistent praise types. Hearing even a small amount of generic praise reduced persistence, whereas hearing a small amount of nongeneric praise preserved self-evaluation.
先前的研究表明，一般性表扬（“画得好”）与孩子在失败后放弃有关，因为失败意味着缺乏关键特质（例如绘画能力）。相反，非一般性表扬（“画得好”）与掌握动机有关，因为它意味着成功与努力有关。然而，孩子们可能会收到这些表扬类型的混合（即不一致的表扬），其效果尚不清楚。我们测试了不一致的表扬如何影响动机的两个组成部分：自我评价和坚持。随机将幼儿园儿童（N=135）分配到五种不同表扬类型一致性的条件之一。在两个失败情景后，孩子们报告了自我评价和坚持。结果表明，更多的非一般性表扬与更大的动机呈线性相关，但不一致的表扬类型对自我评价和坚持的影响不同。听到少量的一般性表扬会降低坚持，而听到少量的非一般性表扬则会保持自我评价。
