To Praise or Not to Praise?

Overview

Objectives/Goals The objective of this study was to determine if the impact of praise and criticism on performance change with age, specifically on adults and sixth graders. Methods/Materials Informed consent was obtained from 40 randomly selected participants, 20 adults and 20 sixth graders. The sample space was divided equally between males and females. An intellectual test, the game Scramble, and a physical test, running 20 meters were observed. 10 from each age group did the intellectual test, while the other half performed the physical test on a flat surface with minimal obstacles. Each participant executed one of these tests 4 times, and after the first 3 tests they were given either written praise, criticism, or verbal praise. When each participant finished all of his or her tests, they were given 3 survey questions on the effectiveness of the stimuli. Results I studied the scores from 40 participants of two age groups, adults and sixth graders. Seventy percent of the sixth graders performed best with verbal praise, while sixty percent of the adults performed best with criticism. The most effective stimuli remained consistent in both intellectual and physical tests for sixth graders and adults. Male and female participants varied in the type of most effective stimuli, excluding the sixth grade physical test. For the survey questions, the majority, thirty five percent, of sixth graders replied that verbal praise worked seemingly best for them, while adult majority, forty percent, replied that they perceived all forms of stimuli were equally effective. Conclusions/Discussion Results show that the effects of praise and criticism do change with age. However, the effects of physical versus intellectual tests did not change the most effective stimuli for each age group. With the exception of sixth grade physical test, males and females had different outcomes based on the type of stimuli.

Awards (1)

• First Place

Competition history

• CSEF 2017 Behavioral & Social Sciences · Entry J0411

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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