{
  "id": 6158847,
  "title": "Why 'you're smart' can backfire: Young children may cheat more after ability praise",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/07/why-youre-smart-can-backfire-young-children-may-cheat-more-after",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-07T19:20:04.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Phys.org",
    "slug": "phys-org",
    "url": "https://phys.org/news/2026-09-youre-smart-backfire-young-children.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "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.",
  "summary": "Parents and teachers might think telling kids \"they're smart\" is a helpful way to build self-confidence and support positive development.",
  "key_points": [
    "Praising children for being smart may lead to cheating",
    "5- to 6-year-olds 64.3% likely to cheat after intelligence praise",
    "Effort or honesty praise reduces cheating tendencies"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}