1. Praising the person or what they do?

2. Key issue addressed by the study
The study explored:
The effects of different types of praise on students’ motivation
How these effects are influenced by gender and age
Effective use of praise is a key element in securing a growth mindset

3. Four kinds of teacher feedback
Product Praise focuses on what students achieve eg “what a wonderful painting”
Process Praise focuses on how students complete a task eg “what a careful job you did”
Person Praise focuses on students’ skills eg “you are a good writer”
Neutral feedback eg a positive sounding “OK”

4. The effects of praise on older girls
Increased motivation after receiving product praise
Increased motivation after receiving process page
Decreased motivation after receiving person praise

5. The effects of praise on older boys
The researchers found the type of feedback received, praise or neutral feedback, did not affect boys’ motivation

6. The effects of praise on younger students
4-5 year olds showed increased motivation after receiving any of the three types of praise (as opposed to neutral feedback)

7. Who were the students in the study?
In total 169 students from San Francisco schools
76 nursery students aged 4&5
93 primary students aged 9-11

8. How was the information gathered?
The researchers interviewed students who had received different kinds of praise and observed their behaviour when tackling problems.
Each student tackled two sets of puzzles: one moderately easy, the second extremely difficult or impossible to solve
After each puzzle students received one of 3 types of positive praise, neutral feedback or no feedback at all
Through interviews and observation researchers assessed students’ problem-solving motivation

9. How can teachers use this evidence?
The researchers discovered four categories of praise in the study
To what extent do you give different types of feedback and to whom?
You might record a section of your lesson to find out, and use the study findings to assess how appropriate it is for the gender and age group of your students.
How might you develop your use of praise so as to foster your students’ growth mindsets?

10. How can school leaders use this evidence?
The researchers explored a particular approach to teaching by setting up puzzle tasks to create contrasting learning scenarios for students
You might want to set up and observe similar puzzle-solving for particular groups of students to gain a window into their motivation and the impact of different types of praise on this.

11. Follow-up reading
Study reference: Corpus, J. H., Lepper, M. R. (2007) The Effects of Person Versus Performance Praise on Children’s Motivation: Gender and age as moderating factors in Educational psychology, Vol. 27, No. 4, August 2007, pp
You might like to read a longer summary student motivation on the TLA website: