A Note of Praise 2024 Geoffrey W Sutton & Bing AI |
Micro praise is a term for small units of praise. The power of positive praise appears as a two-way benefit. The receiver appreciates the compliment and the giver feels uplifted too.
A finding from Gallup makes an important point.
Considering the power of team-level recognition, it's alarming that no more than a third of western European and U.S. employees, according to recent Gallup research, strongly agree that their organization recognizes team achievements (33% in the U.K., 33% in Germany, 25% in the U.S., 24% in Spain and 19% in France).
Erica Boothby and Vanessa Bohns (2021) found that people underestimate the value of complimenting others.
Kakinuma and others (2020) observed that praise has a positive impact on effort but praise focused on ability has a negative impact. In their own studies, they found that those who offered ability-focused praise negatively impacted those who gave praise. When combined with previous studies, it appears that praising a person's ability doesn't work well for either the giver or the receiver.
Psychologist David Myers summarized recent research on micro praise and gave a personal example. He benefitted from a note from billionaire Rich DeVos. Myers responded to the compliment by inviting DeVos to coffee. DeVos invested in his efforts to promote the use of hearing loops to help the hearing impaired. His post inspired this post.
In summary, micro praise has the potential to strengthen effort and encourage the giver as well. Thus, in some cases, micro praise functions as a positive reinforcer. Of course, if the praised effort declines, then the characteristics of the praise and situational factors should be examined.
Potential applications of two-way praiseworthy moments and a path to an uplifting culture.
Student <> teacher at all levels of education
employee <> supervisor
spouse <> spouse
parent <> child
friend <> friend
person <> person
Cite this post
Sutton, G. W. (2024, January 4). Micro praise. Psychology Concepts and Theories. Retrieved from https://suttonpsychology.blogspot.com/2024/01/micro-praise.html
Geoffrey W. Sutton, PhD is Emeritus Professor of Psychology. He retired from a clinical practice and was credentialed in clinical neuropsychology and psychopharmacology. His website is www.suttong.com
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