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Findings from a pair of investigations conducted in 2013 and 2017 suggest that thoughtfully delivered compliments can influence a child's drive and their self-perception regarding intellectual ability.
Child development experts have consistently advised caregivers that affirmation benefits young people. However, such encouragement varies widely in form—ranging from "You're so intelligent" to "You earned that mark through your persistence." The gap between these two examples carries real significance, shaping how kids form self-concepts and approach academic challenges as they mature.
Comments like "You're so smart" focus on the individual—a category researchers label person praise. While such statements seem harmless, evidence indicates they can weaken a young person's drive and their confidence in their own mental capacity. By contrast, telling a child, "You did well because of the effort you invested," highlights persistence and methodical work—what scholars call process praise. This style of feedback zeroes in on the strategies employed or the energy expended.
Which Type of Compliment Do You Offer?
Earlier investigations examining these two feedback styles took place under controlled lab conditions with young participants. Yet researchers at Stanford and the University of Chicago, working under Elizabeth Gunderson's guidance, sought to explore a different angle: how does caregiver feedback within the home influence children's development? The team monitored interactions between parents and children aged 1 to 3, then revisited the same kids during second and third grade. Their results showed that young people exposed to process praise "displayed a stronger appetite for difficult tasks."
As reported in the 2013 Child Development study, process praise encourages kids to view intelligence as something that can be cultivated rather than something static. Children exposed to this style of feedback develop what the team terms an "incremental theory of intelligence—the conviction that intellectual capacity can grow." The researchers elaborated: "When youngsters frequently encounter process praise (such as 'you really worked hard on that'), they may begin to attribute their successes to sustained effort and intentional practice. Meanwhile, kids exposed more often to person praise (such as 'you're so smart') might conclude that their achievements stem from unchangeable personal qualities."
Does Toddler-Era Effort-Based Praise Endure?
Gunderson and her colleagues returned to evaluate the same participants by fourth grade, focusing specifically on mathematics and reading skills. Their aim was to determine whether the process praise delivered in early childhood continued to exert influence as students faced increasingly demanding coursework.
The 2017 paper, "Parent Praise to Toddlers Predicts Fourth Grade Academic Achievement via Children's Incremental Mindsets," published in Developmental Psychology, sheds light on why certain students demonstrate greater drive for academic improvement. The volume of process praise heard between ages 1 and 3 corresponded directly with the incremental motivation these students displayed in fourth grade. In contrast, kids whose early years included relatively little process praise tended to show weaker incremental motivation later on.
Taken together, the two investigations reveal a connection between the kind of affirmation children receive before entering formal schooling and the development of incremental motivation plus academic performance throughout the elementary years.
Compliments Function Like Medication
Although Gunderson's pair of studies drew on a modest participant pool of just 53, the findings—particularly when viewed alongside encouraging results from laboratory work—suggest caregivers would do well to lean more heavily on process praise. Rather than offering a statement like "You're wonderful at construction," which centers the child, consider something along the lines of, "That birdhouse you built keeps baby birds protected. What approach did you take?" Prompting your child to describe how they made the birdhouse secure draws attention to their capabilities and recognizes the methods they applied. (You'll find additional process praise illustrations in How Proper Praise Helps Children: Six paths for maximizing your compliments.)
Hyman Ginott articulated the following in his 1965 publication Between Parent and Child:
"Compliments, much like penicillin, should never be dispensed carelessly. Effective handling of powerful medications demands protocols and warnings—guidelines governing when and how much to give, vigilance regarding potential adverse responses. Comparable guidelines apply when delivering emotional remedies."
Acknowledging that affirmation operates as a form of emotional remedy for children, one particular style of feedback appears to outperform the alternative.
