According to The Atlantic, a long-term study conducted by Stanford and University of Chicago researchers suggests that children praised more often for what they do (e.g., “good job”) instead of who they are (e.g., “good girl” or “good boy”) will be better equipped to face life’s challenges.
In the study, researchers videotaped 50 toddlers at age one, two, and three interacting with their parents. Five years later, the children who were praised more for what they did than who they are were more likely to believe in a person’s ability to grow and evolve, learn, and become more intelligent. They were also able to think of more strategies to deal with setbacks.
Additionally, researchers found that boys were praised more often for what they did (24.4% of the time) than girls (10.3% of the time).
The study will be published in an upcoming issue of the journal Child Development.
