If this is the first time you’re playing along, you may want to read our initial explanation. You can find it here:
Is It Really True? Quiz Intro
Please remember that in this quiz there are no right or wrong answers. We simply want to stimulate dialogue about some of our commonly held cultural beliefs.
Consider this statement…
We should praise children when they do a good job.
Do you agree or disagree?
Here’s what we came up with as we thought about the statement.
Why would people praise children when they’ve done a “good job”?
As we said last time, we believe that everything people say or do is intended to meet a need or to help them experience something they value. And when we want something we come up with ideas for getting it–strategies such as “praising children for doing a good job.”
So what is it that people want–the values–that motivate them to choose this strategy?
We guess that people praise children because they value:
- Support: to help the child feel empowered in their ability to accomplish something meaningful, and therefore improve their self-confidence.
- Acknowledgment: so the child understands the contribution they’ve made to you through their action.
- Success: helping the child understand which behaviors will support their success in life.
Can you think of any other needs our values people might want to satisfy by using this strategy?
Why this strategy?
Now the question becomes, why would someone choose this strategy?
Behind every strategy we choose there is a [tag-tec]belief that guides our choices [/tag-tec]and our actions. So what are the cultural beliefs that lead people to choose this strategy instead of some other?
Here are some possible beliefs that may lead to choosing this strategy:
- Children need authorities to help them learn good from bad, right from wrong.
- The best way to motivate children is by using praise.
- Without praise children won’t establish a sense of their value or self-worth.
Can you think of any others beliefs that might lead to using praise as a strategy?
Does this strategy work?
If your goal is to have children look to others for their sense of worth and have their actions motivated out of a desire to be praised and to please others–or the fear of not getting this praise–then we would say this strategy works.
We know many adults who depend on the praise and the approval of others for their happiness. We are not immune from this. We still catch ourselves hoping for praise and reward for what we do. And sometimes find ourselves disappointed and questioning our own worth when we don’t get it.
So, if what you really want is for the child to have a high degree of self-confidence that comes from a sense of empowerment, the ability to know if they are acting in harmony with their own values, an intrinsic sense of their self-worth, and the ability to know for themselves which actions will best support their success in life, then we think the strategy of praise probably does not work very well.
To the degree that we’ve come to depend on praise, not receiving it will lead to one of two scenarios–in children and adults alike. Either we start questioning our value, abilities and our internal guidance, or we end up frustrated and rebelling against the “authority” who failed to provide the praise we want.
What new understanding might make a difference?
There are understandings that can help people choose a different strategy than praise.
We discussed one in the first installment of this series: the difference between intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation.
This time we are exploring the difference between:
Domestication: Any training process that uses a system of punishments and rewards to accomplish its goals.
and
Internal Authority: Using the principles and values we consciously choose as our guide.
Domestication
If you’ve been brought up in a typical world culture, then you are no stranger to externally imposed consequences such as punishments and rewards–praise being one of them.
From a very young age, authorities in your life teach you what’s right and what’s wrong, what’s good and what’s bad, what’s appropriate and inappropriate.
And you quickly learned that you get scolded or punished for being wrong or bad and praised or rewarded for being good or right.
To paraphrase Don Miguel Ruiz from his book, The Four Agreements: We soon learn to use this system of punishment and reward on ourselves to control our own behavior so we can keep getting the rewards (praise, recognition, a better job, a bigger house, …) and keep avoiding the punishments (ridicule, loss of relationship, loosing our job, …)
It seems that the lesson most people learn from this is:
What other people think is more important than what I think.
Given the amount of time and energy people spend on worrying about what other people think of them, it doesn’t appear that the strategy of praise satisfies the underlying desire to instill people with self-confidence, empowerment, the ability to know and act in harmony with their values, or an intrinsic sense of their self-worth.
What might better satisfy these underlying values?
Internal Authority
Imagine that instead of Praise:
“It was very grown-up of you to help rake your grandmother’s yard.”
“Your such a good boy for cleaning up the crayons.”
“You are so smart to get an A plus on that math test.”
What if we supported children in developing their self-confidence and their sense self-worth by modeling the ability to know what we value and to offer appreciation for how their actions supported us?
Let’s consider these values again. How would we model our value for:
Support:
Our desire to help a child feel empowered in their ability to accomplish something meaningful, and therefore improve their self-confidence.
“I love that you helped rake your grandmother’s yard. I think it helps her understand how much you care for her. Is that why you did it?”
Acknowledgment:
Our desire to help a child understand the contribution they’ve made through their action.
“I really enjoy that you cleaned up the crayons because I like it when it’s clean and tidy and I appreciate your help in keeping it that way. What was important to you about cleaning up the crayons?”
Success:
Our desire to help a child understand which behaviors will support their success in life.
“I’m happy to see you understood all the ideas in your math test because I think this will help you when you grow up the same ways it helps me with our family budget and running our business. What do you like about it?”
How would this be different for the child?
Imagine being raised in a culture where the people in your life understood what they valued and how to express their appreciation for your actions in ways that helped you develop your ability to know what you value.
Imagine that, both at home and in school, you were supported in making your own decisions, with respect for your internal guidance. And that the “authorities” in your life were truly interested in helping you explore what was important to you about your choices.
Do you think people would be as hesitant to rely on their own decisions or as worried about the opinions of other people?
How would it have been different for you?
What occurs to you?
That’s our thinking about this belief statement. Please let us know what occurs to you about any or all of this.
Click Here to make your comment.
We look forward to reading your response.
With great trust and respect for your ability to choose wisely,
Beth and Neill
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