You might be familiar with the statment, "Compliments make dolphins dance."
Well, almost every people believes that complimenting plays a vitally important role for nurturing childern growing postively and passionately.However, according to some observation and information from EBS documentary, named "What Is School?" if complimenting is used wrongly, it will trigger reverse effect.


Well actually, complimenting is verified effective by Rosenthal who is professor of psychology in Harvard University. He had some experiment in San Francisco based on Pygmalion Effect. Students in same intellectual level used as subject.
They were separated into two groups, and group A was prasied a lot by their homeroom teacher, but group B took criticism more, rather than compliment. 8 month later, Rosenthal measured the intellectual level again, and the outcome was surprising. Group A's average intellectual level was much higher than Group B student. In other words, the compliment is absolutely affect children
growing positively.


However, Doctor Alfie Kohn's opinion is different. Complimenting makes children inpassionate and they tend to do some good attitude only to show their parents to get compliment. Children will not find their own personality, and character, what she can do best. Also they could feel the great pressure to do far better next time.


The EBS documentary "What is school?", did some experiment based on Alfie Kohn's Philosophy. There are two room, one is red and the other is blue. Children who take part in this experiment must select a room that they want. Then they will solve the same math problem, but the kind of praise teacher gives to them is quite different. In a red room, if children answer correctly, they compliment them like "Oh, my god you must me genius. How smart!". On contrary, in a blue room, if children answer correctly, children are complimented like "Oh, I think you must work hard to solve that problem. How diligent!" After solving math problem, teachers in each room ask them to choose a box. One box is full of the other students' grades and the
other box contains the right solving process of the problems.


Guess what they answered. Children who solved problems in a red room chose the box containing the other students' grades. But children who solved problems in blue room chose the box including the right solving process of the problems.


Like the blue room's case, if complimenting is used inappropriately, they will bring about reverse effect that is absolutely different from what you've foreshadowed in your children's change. Children can be nurtured in a places only filled with trust and belief. The wrong use of complimenting will only stir up the disaster.