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Stop heaping praise on your kids.
The Washington Post: I’ve done it. You’ve probably done it. And we’re hurting kids when we do. According to the journal Psychological Science, heaping praise on a child with low self-esteem only does more damage.
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Parents sinking some kids with their puffed-up praise, study finds
NBC: Moms and dads who bathe kids in exaggerated flattery to boost low self-esteem are stifling the very children they hope to elevate, a new study shows. In experiments involving groups of about 1,000 adults
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To Smoosh Peas Is to Learn
The New York Times: Everybody loves a messy eater. In a study published this month in Developmental Science, 16-month-old children were taught new names for foods like jelly and syrup, then tested to see if
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When Being Called “Incredibly Good” Is Bad for Children
Parents and other adults heap the highest praise on children who are most likely to be hurt by the compliments, a new study finds. Researchers found that adults seem to naturally give more inflated praise
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Books to Check Out: January 2014
Starting this month, the Observer will be publishing a list of recent books by APS members. To submit a new book, email apsobserver@psychologicalscience.org. Depression and Drugs: The Neurobehavioral Structure of a Psychological Storm by Martin
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Findings, Not Intentions, Motivated Controversy
The following is in response to your cover story “Inconvenient Truth-Tellers” in the November 2013 Observer: As someone with extensive (adverse) experience saying things, based on research, that people inside and outside of the academy
