Introduction: Does Praise Shape Our Future?

In our journey through Topic 1: Development, we’ve looked at how our brains grow and how we learn. But have you ever stopped to think about the words people use when you succeed? Does it matter if someone says "You are so smart!" versus "You worked so hard on that!"?

In 2013, a researcher named Gunderson and her colleagues decided to find out. They wanted to see if the type of praise parents give to their toddlers (ages 1 to 3) could predict how those children would feel about effort and intelligence five years later. This study is a real-world look at Carol Dweck’s mindset theory in action!


The Core Concepts: Two Types of Praise

Before we dive into the study, we need to understand the two main "flavours" of praise that Gunderson was looking for:

• Person Praise: This is when a parent praises the child’s individual traits.
Example: "You’re a natural at maths!" or "You’re such a good girl." Gunderson believed this might lead to a fixed mindset (the belief that you are born with a certain amount of ability and can't change it).

• Process Praise: This is when a parent praises the effort, the strategy, or the steps the child took.
Example: "I like how you tried different ways to solve that puzzle!" or "You worked really hard on that drawing." Gunderson believed this would lead to a growth mindset (the belief that you can get better through hard work).


The Study: Gunderson et al. (2013)

The Aim

The researchers wanted to see if the praise children received in their home environment between ages 1 and 3 predicted their motivational framework (their mindset) five years later, when they were 7 or 8 years old.

The Procedure

1. The Participants: The study followed \(53\) children (and their parents) from diverse backgrounds in Chicago.

2. The Observations: This was a longitudinal study, meaning it took place over a long time. Researchers visited the families at home every four months starting when the children were 14 months old. They recorded \(90\) minutes of "natural" daily life between the parent and child.

3. Coding the Praise: The researchers watched the videos and counted the instances of person praise, process praise, and "other" praise (like saying "Good!").

4. The Follow-up: Five years later, when the children were 7 or 8, they were interviewed. They were asked questions to see how they felt about challenges and whether they thought intelligence was something you could change with effort.


The Findings (Results and Conclusions)

The Results:

• Percentage of Praise: On average, process praise made up about \(3\%\) of all the praise children heard. Person praise made up about \(1\%\).

• Gender Differences: Interestingly, boys received more process praise than girls did. Parents tended to praise boys for their effort more than they did for girls.

• The Prediction: There was a positive correlation (a link) between process praise at ages 1-3 and the child’s mindset at age 7-8. The more process praise they got as toddlers, the more they believed that effort was the key to success later in life.

The Conclusion:

The study concluded that the type of praise parents use really does matter. Process praise helps children develop a growth mindset, making them more likely to see intelligence as something they can improve through hard work. However, person praise did not necessarily "guarantee" a fixed mindset, though the link to process praise and growth was very clear.


Quick Review: The "Praise-to-Mindset" Pipeline

Process Praise \(\rightarrow\) Praising Effort \(\rightarrow\) Growth Mindset (I can improve!)

Person Praise \(\rightarrow\) Praising Talent \(\rightarrow\) Fixed Mindset (I'm either smart or I'm not.)


Evaluating the Study (Strengths and Weaknesses)

To do well in your GCSE exam, you must be able to evaluate. This means looking at what the study did well and where it could be improved.

Strengths

• High Ecological Validity: Because the researchers visited families in their actual homes and watched them do "normal" things, the behaviour was natural. It wasn’t a fake lab environment.

• Avoided Researcher Bias: The people who "coded" (counted) the praise in the videos did not know which children would eventually have a growth or fixed mindset. This kept the results objective.

• Longitudinal Design: By following the children for five years, the researchers could actually see development happening over time, rather than just taking a "snapshot."

Weaknesses

• Ethics (Deception): The parents were told the researchers were looking at child development in general, but they weren't told exactly that their praise was being counted. If they knew, they might have changed how they spoke (this is called social desirability bias).

• Small Sample Size: Only \(53\) families were used. This is a small number for a city like Chicago, so it might not represent how every family in the world uses praise.


Common Exam Mistakes to Avoid

• Mixing up the types of praise: Remember, Process sounds like Progress (effort). Person sounds like Personality (fixed trait).

• Thinking the findings were about "how much" praise: It wasn't about the amount of praise, but the type of praise that mattered most.

• Confusing the ages: The praise happened at 1-3 years old. The mindset was measured 5 years later (at age 7-8).


Key Takeaways

• Gunderson et al. (2013) found that praising effort (process) rather than ability (person) leads to a better motivational framework for children.

• The study supports Dweck's Mindset Theory by showing that our environment and the feedback we get from parents shape how we view our own intelligence.

• While the study was naturalistic (strong), it had a small sample and some ethical issues regarding what the parents were told.