4.2.2 (HL)—Motivation and development

Praise is a positive response to an act or achievement and can function as positive reinforcement when it makes the behaviour more likely to recur. Its developmental effect depends on what the praise communicates about the learner and the task.

Praise for effort can support a belief that strategies and practice are improvable; praise for fixed performance can make ability seem scarce and make setbacks threatening. Sincere, specific feedback is more informative than giving identical approval to everyone.

A child whose sponge cake fails can still be praised for testing a recipe and revising the method. That feedback supports persistence and a process-focused self-schema; praise for being ‘naturally talented’ would not teach what to do next.

Praise is not automatically motivating and moderation has no universal threshold. Age, culture, relationship and credibility matter; distinguish a short-term performance increase from durable self-esteem, learning or development.

From self-determination theory, feedback is more likely to support development when it builds competence while preserving autonomy and relatedness. Adults can acknowledge the child's perspective, offer bounded choices and give process information rather than using praise as surveillance or control. Evaluate whether the child later chooses the prosocial or learning behaviour without the reward, not only immediate compliance.