Most praise functions as a verbal reward, creating dependence on others' approval rather than self-generated criteria¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r1 · q1
Currency · newest study 1994 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q1 i? Most praise is tantamount to verbal reward: it makes approval conditional, can create dependence on securing someone else's approval, and devalues learning as a prerequisite for teacher approval. → Kohn 1994

Evidence¶

Kohn 1994¶

Kohn, Alfie. (1994). The Risks of Rewards. ERIC Digest. ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education Urbana IL. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED376990

q1 · i? · review · r1

The digest argues, citing Kohn (1993), that "most praise is tantamount to verbal reward," making positive responses conditional on adult demands and devaluing learning. This is the author's interpretive argument, not a tested result; no data are offered.

"most praise is tantamount to verbal reward. Rather than helping children to develop their own criteria for successful learning or desirable behavior, praise can create a growing dependence on securing someone else's approval."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Rewards cause people to lose interest in whatever they were rewarded for doing, undermining intrinsic motivation
• Extrinsic rewards deplete intrinsic motivation for already-motivated activities once the rewards are removed — related
• Praise for intelligence, rather than for effort, after success undermines children's motivation and performance after a later failure — related
• A 1970 teacher self-analysis programme asserts, without data, that teacher responses including verbal rewards can close off pupil thinking — related
• Positive reinforcement and praise correlate positively with learning while criticism correlates negatively — reports the opposite
• School-level constraints prevented two of nine sites from using the four-part written praise strategy — related