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Posts about the state of and the process of education.
Praise and Positive Reinforcement
November 25th, 2008 | No Comments
If you’ve ever thought the pop psychology on self-esteem had the causal arrow pointing in the wrong direction (e.g., self-esteem and success are correlated, so if I praise a kid up the wazoo, I increase his/her changes of being successful), read this and feel vindicated. Money quote:
After reviewing those 200 studies, Baumeister concluded that having high self-esteem didn’t improve grades or career achievement. It didn’t even reduce alcohol usage. And it especially did not lower violence of any sort. (Highly aggressive, violent people happen to think very highly of themselves, debunking the theory that people are aggressive to make up for low self-esteem.) At the time, Baumeister was quoted as saying that his findings were “the biggest disappointment of my career.”
Now he’s on Dweck’s side of the argument, and his work is going in a similar direction: He will soon publish an article showing that for college students on the verge of failing in class, esteem-building praise causes their grades to sink further. Baumeister has come to believe the continued appeal of self-esteem is largely tied to parents’ pride in their children’s achievements: It’s so strong that “when they praise their kids, it’s not that far from praising themselves.”
By and large, the literature on praise shows that it can be effective—a positive, motivating force. In one study, University of Notre Dame researchers tested praise’s efficacy on a losing college hockey team. The experiment worked: The team got into the playoffs. But all praise is not equal—and, as Dweck demonstrated, the effects of praise can vary significantly depending on the praise given. To be effective, researchers have found, praise needs to be specific. (The hockey players were specifically complimented on the number of times they checked an opponent.)
What Would You Spend 10,000 Hours Doing?
November 17th, 2008 | 2 Comments
Could I have been a world-class expert in something by the age I am now?
And would I want to be?
If I could make myself a world-class expert in something by the time I’m 40 (reducing my daily commitment to 2 hours, 15 minutes), what would it be? And does my asking this question suggest that I need a career change?
Help Me Become More Well-Read
September 3rd, 2008 | 6 Comments
I don’t make resolutions in January, but I do tend to make them for new school years. One of my resolutions for 2008-2009 is to read fiction again and to fill in some of the gaps (or rather, ginormous canyons) in my literary knowledge. And also to find new books that I really, really enjoy.
I just cracked open Atlas Shrugged, but I’m not quite sure what to read after that (other than The Fountainhead — Animal Farm? Slaughterhouse-Five? Anna Karenina?). So, dear readers, help me with my reading list!
