Praise Ain't Encouragement
TeamOJT Tip of the Month for November, 2005
To many trainers, mentors, and coaches, praise and encouragement appear to be the same thing. It appears this way because praise and encouragement both focus on positive behaviors. However, you can understand the differences by looking at the purpose and effect of encouragement and praise.
Praise is a reward based on achievement. It is an external reward and communicates, "If you do something I value, I will recognize and value you." This type of pressure from without rarely promotes desirable behavior.
Praise is a method of control to get the person to do what you want. However, it can have damaging effects. This is particularly true when a trainee begins to believe his or her worth depends upon the opinions of trainers, peers, and supervisors. Praise actually can help produce discouragement insofar as the person can rarely meet others' standards and hence is seldom praiseworthy. Also, if the learner fears being unable to merit praise again, he or she may give up and not even try. Perceived high standards become a deterrent to encouragement.
Encouragement, on the other hand, focuses on effort, improvement, and the person's resources and assets. It searches for and accentuates the positive. It is neither competitive nor interested in comparisons. It is aimed at helping the trainee develop self-acceptance and a feeling of being worthy. The motivation is internal. Research shows that individuals who rely on intrinsic motivation use more powerful learning strategies. The table below illustrates the differences between praise and encouragement.
| Praise | Encouragement |
|---|---|
| Focus on external control | Focus on the learner's ability to manage the training constructively |
| Focus is on external evaluation | Focus is on internal evaluation |
| Rewarded only for well-done, completed tasks and improvement | Recognizes effort |
| Focus on personal gain | Focus on assets, contribution, appreciation |
| Trainee learns to conform or rebel | Trainee learns courage to be imperfect and willingness to try |
| Self-worth is based on trainer's opinions | Self-evaluation |
| Setting of unrealistic standards | Learns to accept efforts of self and others |
| Worth is measured by how close I approach perfection | I am worthy of dignity and respect as I am |
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Human Performance Applications |
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