Some Effects of Praise and Blame on Perceived Ability and Affect

Abstract

The effects of praise and blame on evaluations of one's own performance and on affect were investigated in the present experiment. Of the four participants in each experimental session, two acted as teachers and two acted as students. The two teachers were actually experimental confederates. First, a test was administered to the students by the experimenter. After the test was completed, both teachers allegedly scored the tests in one condition (the test-scored condition) to induce the students to believe that the teachers knew their ability. In another condition (the test-not-scored condition), the teachers did not score the tests. In both conditions, the students then worked at two identical tasks and received success feedback at the first task and failure feedback at the second task. Subsequently, one of the two students was praised by the teachers for success and not blamed for failure, while the other received no praise for success but blame for failure. When the subjects could assume that the teachers knew their ability (test-scored condition), receiving no praise for success and blame for failure, led the subjects to a more positive evaluation of their own test performance than receiving praise for success and no blame for failure. Within the test-scored condition, receiving no praise for success/blame for failure also led to more positive affect than receiving praise for success/no blame for failure. Within the test-not-scored condition, the performance and affect ratings between students receiving no praise for success/blame for failure and those receiving praise for success/no blame for failure did not differ.