overpraising

Overpraising is the excessive or inappropriate use of praise that goes beyond proportional acknowledgment of achievement. It often emphasizes innate ability rather than effort or process, and can occur in parenting, education, workplaces, and coaching. While praise can support motivation, overpraising tends to be counterproductive when it becomes routine, non-specific, or linked to unconditional approval.

In practice, overpraising appears as vague statements like "you're amazing" regardless of performance, constant positive feedback without criteria, or praise that labels a child or worker as "a genius" after minimal success. It may also involve praising outcomes rather than strategies, or rewarding effort regardless of whether effort leads to improvement.

Potential effects: short-term mood lift and increased compliance, but research indicates it can undermine intrinsic motivation, encourage avoidance of challenging tasks, create dependency on external validation, and erode resilience when failure occurs.

Mitigation involves using specific, process-oriented praise (for example, "I like how you organized your notes and tried a new problem-solving step"), emphasizing effort and strategy, providing clear criteria for success, balancing praise with constructive feedback, encouraging self-assessment and autonomy, and tailoring praise to individual goals and cultural context.

Context matters; in some cultures or for some individuals, direct praise is valued, while in others modesty is preferred. Awareness of timing and proportionality helps ensure praise supports growth rather than dependence.