“Wow, you got an A without even studying.”
“Your drawing is wonderful –you’re my little Picasso.”
If you’re like most parents, you offer praise to your children, believing it is the key to their success. (No. 1) But according to a new study, praise may do more harm than good.
For the study, after a simple IQ test, one group was told it did really well and must be very smart. The other group was told it did really well and must have worked hard. One group was praised for intelligence and the other was praised _______________.
Asked if they wanted to take a slightly harder test, the kids praised for their intelligence were unwillingly. Of those praised for their effort, however, 90 percent were eager for a more challenging task. And on a final test the effort group performed significantly better than the group praised for its intelligence.
Many of the kids who had been labeled “smart” performed worst of all. The “hard workers” got the message that they could improve their scores by trying harder, but the “smart” kids believed they should do well without any effort.(No.2) Thus, kids who get too much praise are less likely to take risks, are highly sensitive to failure and are more likely to give up when faced with a challenge.
Tips for Parents:
Avoid labels. (No.3) Praising for effort sends the message that your child has the power to improve and change. Be mindful of labeling yourself and others.
Teach kids from an early age that the brain is a muscle that can be strengthened with practice. This sends the message that kids can directly affect their intelligence.
Parents often praise their kids to make themselves feel good, or to protect their kids from failure. But it’s very important for parents to help their kids to learn to deal with setbacks (挫折) and to help them focus on ways to improve.
Please fill in the blank in the fourth paragraph with proper words or phrases to complete the sentence. (within 4 words)
One group was praised for intelligence and the other was praised __________________________________.
Which sentence (No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3) in the passage can be replaced by the following one?
As a result of much praise, kids will lack enough courage to risk and face failure and a challenge.
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How many pieces of advice does the writer give to parents?
_______________________ （within one word）
What is the best title of the passage? (Please answer within 10 words.)
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Translate the underlined sentence in the last paragraph into Chinese.
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