Why 'you're smart' can backfire: Young children may cheat more after ability praise
Parents and teachers might think telling kids "they're smart" is a helpful way to build self-confidence and support positive development.
A new study reveals that praising children for being "smart" could unintentionally prompt them to cheat on future academic tasks. Researchers in China found that when 5- to 6-year-olds were told they succeeded because they were intelligent, they were almost twice as likely to cheat on a subsequent test (64.3%) compared to children praised for effort, luck, or easy questions (35.7%–38.1%).
This suggests that intelligence-based praise may create pressure for young children to maintain a "smart" identity, potentially leading to dishonest behavior. Instead, praising children for effort or honesty could help reduce cheating tendencies by emphasizing the importance of hard work and integrity.
Written by urgent.news from Phys.org's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
