tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15843479.post1187545538506022941..comments2023-09-11T01:59:23.810-07:00Comments on Sierra Highlands: Rewards as Short-CircuitsWillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374272000644968446noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15843479.post-1655047169908104392008-08-27T07:37:00.000-07:002008-08-27T07:37:00.000-07:00And if everyone tells you you're so smart, why can...<I>And if everyone tells you you're so smart, why can't you do everything on your first try? Either the task must be stupid, or you must be, right?</I><BR/><BR/>I inadvertently did this to my kids sometimes --sigh. My secondborn finally pointed out the problem with it and how it affected him, and I've tried to be more careful since.Willahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17374272000644968446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15843479.post-68710125787255625912008-08-26T15:40:00.000-07:002008-08-26T15:40:00.000-07:00Hmm. I noticed what Susan wrote about praise leadi...Hmm. I noticed what Susan wrote about praise leading to fear of failure, back in high school. I named it the Gifted Complex. A lot of the teenagers I knew (the ones who weren't academic whizzes) were terrified of having praise taken away by failing. And if everyone tells you you're so smart, why can't you do everything on your first try? Either the task must be stupid, or you must be, right?<BR/><BR/>Aargh. It's a hard thing to get over.lissla lissarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05354424704358588553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15843479.post-74806019134055163652008-08-26T08:48:00.000-07:002008-08-26T08:48:00.000-07:00Thank you Stephanie! Mmmm.... strawberies. I li...Thank you Stephanie! Mmmm.... strawberies. <BR/><BR/>I liked your post, Laura.<BR/><BR/>Glad that the cheque arrived, thank you again for the beautiful book, and yes, I would like to email Geoff about the Tai Chi, though I ought to say that on your blog so you actually get the message : ).<BR/><BR/>I am glad I am not the only one, Susan ;-). <BR/><BR/>I just finally ordered Punished by Rewards from the library, after hearing about it again from so many sources. I like reading Alfie Kohn's articles, but he seems opinionated, and so I suppose to be honest that I have held off from reading a whole book from him because I wasn't sure I would do his ideas justice (either disagree too much or get swamped too much into his worldview).Willahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17374272000644968446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15843479.post-67637419538469659822008-08-26T08:21:00.000-07:002008-08-26T08:21:00.000-07:00This made me think of Carol Dweck's studies of pra...This made me think of Carol Dweck's studies of praise and achievement. Praise a child for working hard rather than getting an A or doing things correctly. The one who is praised for achievement becomes afraid to take risks. He gets locked into worrying about correctness and so doesn't grow as well intellectually. Alfie Kohn has also written about this in his book What Does it Mean to Be Well Educated?. He tells of some fourth-grade teachers who were asked to teach a task. One group was told that the students must perform up to standards and do well on a test. The other group of teachers was told to facilitate their students learning. Students who had the second group of teachers learned the material better than the first group.<BR/><BR/>Interesting stuff, Willa! I had to laugh at your confusion over where you'd heard of the book, Sway. (That's the right one, isn't it-- I can't see the post here in the comment box.) That really sounds like something I would do! <BR/><BR/>SusanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15843479.post-22729003290600735302008-08-23T17:08:00.000-07:002008-08-23T17:08:00.000-07:00How interesting. I can see that. It's like the dif...How interesting. I can see that. It's like the difficulty in training yourself to eat things you don't like- if you reward yourself, the food becomes more difficult, and the treat more desired.<BR/><BR/>Oh, yes- the cheque got here today. Thank you, and Nat is mostly sleeping better, although he's currently wailing anuish and despair about bedtime from the bedroom.lissla lissarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05354424704358588553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15843479.post-41558694230178799712008-08-23T05:20:00.000-07:002008-08-23T05:20:00.000-07:00Willa, I started to comment here, but it was start...Willa, I started to comment here, but it was starting to get so long that I think I'm going to have to make my own post of it! <BR/><BR/>Needless to say, I agree...Laura Ahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08168905598871608315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15843479.post-82834495955823241692008-08-22T22:07:00.000-07:002008-08-22T22:07:00.000-07:00>>...but telling her ahead of time, "If...>>...but telling her ahead of time, "If you enter the fair and win it, I'll take you to Disneyland" is another. It's that anticipation factor that drives the addictive behavior and suppresses the altruism center."<<<BR/><BR/>Willa, you've done it again! You find the most interesting things. It's like wandering in the early summer grass outside my house, and coming upon the occasional wild strawberry to come to your blog. The grass is always nice, but the berries are really good!Stephaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04163649031423865626noreply@blogger.com