"how not to talk to your kids" : the cult of praise (from the New Yorker)
*finally* the defining moment in our self-esteem enshrined culture has been uncovered.
i always had a sneaking suspicion it occurred sometime around when i was born but now i have proof.
from the article :
"[...] Since the 1969 publication of The Psychology of Self-Esteem, in which Nathaniel Branden opined that self-esteem was the single most important facet of a person, the belief that one must do whatever he can to achieve positive self-esteem has become a movement with broad societal effects. Anything potentially damaging to kids’ self-esteemwas axed. Competitions were frowned upon. Soccer coaches stopped counting goals and handed out trophies to everyone. Teachers threw out their red pencils. Criticism was replaced with ubiquitous, evenundeserved, praise.[...]"
and analysis of studies into the effects of praise were quite revealing :
'[...] After reviewing those 200 studies, Baumeister concluded that having high self-esteem didn’t improve grades or career achievement. It didn’t even reduce alcohol usage. And it especially did not lower violence ofany sort. (Highly aggressive, violent people happen to think very highly of themselves, debunking the theory that people are aggressive to make up for low self-esteem.) At the time, Baumeister was quoted assaying that his findings were “the biggest disappointment of my career.” [...]'
this dovetails with an article i read last year saying that employers found college grads to be insufferably (and unjustifiably) full of themselves and ultimately made poor workers.
it's good thing i'm a perfectionist, otherwise i'd have no tonic to the sea of praise.
the full text of the article can be found here
i always had a sneaking suspicion it occurred sometime around when i was born but now i have proof.
from the article :
"[...] Since the 1969 publication of The Psychology of Self-Esteem, in which Nathaniel Branden opined that self-esteem was the single most important facet of a person, the belief that one must do whatever he can to achieve positive self-esteem has become a movement with broad societal effects. Anything potentially damaging to kids’ self-esteemwas axed. Competitions were frowned upon. Soccer coaches stopped counting goals and handed out trophies to everyone. Teachers threw out their red pencils. Criticism was replaced with ubiquitous, evenundeserved, praise.[...]"
and analysis of studies into the effects of praise were quite revealing :
'[...] After reviewing those 200 studies, Baumeister concluded that having high self-esteem didn’t improve grades or career achievement. It didn’t even reduce alcohol usage. And it especially did not lower violence ofany sort. (Highly aggressive, violent people happen to think very highly of themselves, debunking the theory that people are aggressive to make up for low self-esteem.) At the time, Baumeister was quoted assaying that his findings were “the biggest disappointment of my career.” [...]'
this dovetails with an article i read last year saying that employers found college grads to be insufferably (and unjustifiably) full of themselves and ultimately made poor workers.
it's good thing i'm a perfectionist, otherwise i'd have no tonic to the sea of praise.
the full text of the article can be found here