ArticleNPJ science of learning2023
"You did incredibly well!": teachers' inflated praise can make children from low-SES backgrounds seem less smart (but more hardworking).
Article in NPJ science of learning, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- "Here, Let Me Do It for You": Psychological Consequences of Receiving Direct and Indirect Help in Childhood.Child developmentPooled it
- Not so different and not deficient: First- and continuing-generation students' selves and self-discrepancies.British journal of psychology (London, England : 1953) · 2026Article
- The Effects of Teacher Rewards and Their Types on Preschool Children's Selective Trust.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- The Brilliance-Belonging Model: How Cultural Beliefs About Intellectual Ability Undermine Educational Equity.Educational psychology review · 2025Review
- Using social and behavioral science to address achievement inequality.NPJ science of learning · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Can teachers' inflated praise make children from low socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds seem less smart? We conducted two preregistered experiments to address this question. We used hypothetical scenarios to ensure experimental control. An experiment with primary school teachers (N = 106, ages 21-63) showed that when a child from a low-SES (vs. high-SES) background succeeded in school, teachers attributed this success more to hard work and delivered more inflated praise (e.g., "You did incredibly well!") but less modest praise (e.g., "You did well!"). An experiment with primary school children (N = 63, ages 10-13) showed that when children learned that another child received inflated praise (while an equally performing classmate received modest praise or no praise), they perceived this child as less smart but more hardworking. These studies provide converging evidence that teachers' inflated praise, although well-intentioned, can make children from low-SES backgrounds seem less smart, thereby reinforcing negative stereotypes about these children's academic abilities.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.