Encouragement and praise can come in many forms, and some ways are better for child development than others. Researchers at the University of Chicago who studied mother-child interactions (互相作用) found that the type of praise children receive affects their attitudes towards challenges later in life.
Specifically, praise that focused on their behavior and the choices that kids made helped them deal with difficult experiences better five years later, compared with praise that focused more on the child himself, like “You’re a good boy.” The study, which appears in the journal Child Development, is the first major study of praise and child development done outside of a lab setting.
“It’s exciting to see it play out in the real world,” said Elizabeth Gunderson who led the study. “Praising the efforts, actions and work of kids is going to be more beneficial in their long-term persistence and desire to be challenged and work hard in the future.”
Such “process praise” includes comments such as “You worked really hard”, which emphasize a child’s actions. “Person praise” includes comments like “You’re so smart”, which focus on a child’s personal qualities. These distinctions (差别) aren’t new in the field of psychology, but exactly how they affect children’s development over the years hasn’t always been clear.
As part of the study, the researchers visited the homes of more than 50 kids between the ages of 1 and 3, and filmed their daily interactions with their parents during 90-minute sessions. Five years later, the researchers followed up with the families, measuring the children’s attitudes towards challenges and problem solving. The children who grew up with more process praise were more open to challenges. Though person praise didn’t seem to have any negative effect on the children, the study suggests that process praise teaches children that their talents and abilities can be developed and improved, while person praise sends the message that their abilities are fixed and therefore not easily changed.
What can we learn from the first Paragraph?
A.Researchers encourage more mother-child interactions. |
B.Different kinds of praise have different effects on children. |
C.Encouragement and praise have the same effects on children. |
D.Researchers have different attitudes to children’s development. |
The underlined word "it" in Paragraph 3 refers to _______ .
A.the journal Child Development |
B.the study of praise and child development |
C.the relationship between parents and their children |
D.the relationship between progress praise and person praise |
Which of the following belongs to "progress praise"?
A.You did a good job! | B.What an adorable boy! |
C.You're a real gentleman! | D.We are so proud of you! |
Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
A.Praise is good for children's development. |
B.Praise is more beneficial than punishment. |
C.Person praise is better than process praise. |
D.Process praise is more beneficial in the long run. |