“You did incredibly well!”: teachers’ inflated praise can make children from low-SES backgrounds seem less smart (but more hardworking)

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.

Using social and behavioral science to address achievement inequality

“…Yet, even in classrooms, children might be treated differently based on their SES. Three studies in our collection—Renoux et al 12 , Schoneveld and Brummelman 13 , and Sierksma 14 —address this possibility. They demonstrate that children from low-SES backgrounds may face unequal treatment in the classroom, often at the hands of well-intentioned teachers or peers, with serious repercussions.…”

“…Second, teachers may send seemingly well-intentioned but discouraging messages to children from low-SES backgrounds. Working at the intersection of developmental psychology and educational science, Schoneveld and Brummelman 13 show that teachers may sometimes behave in ways that are superficially positive but undermine the perceived competence of children from low-SES backgrounds. A preregistered experiment showed that when a child from a low-SES (vs. high-SES) background succeeded in school, teachers delivered more inflated praise, such as “You did incredibly well!” Teachers probably gave more inflated praise because they inferred that the child from a low-SES background had to work harder to achieve their success.…”

“…That is, growing up in low-SES backgrounds does not invariably lead to deficits; it leads to a specialized set of skills that is often underappreciated in academic contexts. Another line of work, exemplified by Renoux et al 12 and Schoneveld and Brummelman 13 , shows that teachers treat children from low-SES backgrounds unfairly, even when their abilities and achievements are on par. Why?…”

What causes social class disparities in education? The role of the mismatches between academic contexts and working-class socialization contexts and how the effects of these mismatches are explained.

“…Notably, teachers' unfair evaluation sometimes prompt them to behave toward students from working-class backgrounds in ways that are superficially positive but ultimately still undermining. For example, teachers might offer exaggerated praise to students from working-class backgrounds when they perform well (Schoneveld & Brummelman, 2023). While teachers' exaggerated praise may be well-intentioned, it is premised on an unfair view of working-class students as less capable than other students, which makes their good performance more surprising and thus worthy of extra praise.…”

“…While teachers' exaggerated praise may be well-intentioned, it is premised on an unfair view of working-class students as less capable than other students, which makes their good performance more surprising and thus worthy of extra praise. Such overly positive teacher behaviors disadvantage students from working-class backgrounds because they and their peers can "read between the lines" and decode the subtle meaning in these behaviors: When teachers give praise that is disproportionate to the magnitude of a student's success, they must think that the student is not very capable (Schoneveld & Brummelman, 2023).…”