Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification03:00

Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification

5.3K
Social psychologists have documented that feeling good about ourselves and maintaining positive self-esteem is a powerful motivator of human behavior (Tavris & Aronson, 2008). In the United States, members of the predominant culture typically think very highly of themselves and view themselves as good people who are above average on many desirable traits (Ehrlinger, Gilovich, & Ross, 2005). Often, our behavior, attitudes, and beliefs are affected when we experience a threat to our...
5.3K
Self-Presentation: Self-Monitoring and Self-Handicapping02:05

Self-Presentation: Self-Monitoring and Self-Handicapping

39.9K
People can go to great lengths to protect their self-image and present themselves in ways that they want others to see them. Sociologist Erving Goffman presented the idea that a person is like an actor on a stage. Calling his theory dramaturgy, Goffman believed that we use “impression management” to present ourselves to others as we hope to be perceived. Each situation is a new scene, and individuals perform different roles depending on who is present (Goffman, 1959). Think about...
39.9K
Hindsight Biases01:12

Hindsight Biases

3.9K
Hindsight bias leads you to believe that the event you just experienced was predictable, even though it really wasn’t. In other words, you knew all along that things would turn out the way they did. Can you relate this to the phrase "Hindsight is 20/20" now? 
3.9K
Fundamental Attribution Error01:14

Fundamental Attribution Error

13.1K
According to some social psychologists, people tend to overemphasize internal factors as explanations—or attributions—for the behavior of other people. They tend to assume that the behavior of another person is a trait of that person, and to underestimate the power of the situation on the behavior of others. They tend to fail to recognize when the behavior of another is due to situational variables, and thus to the person’s state. This erroneous assumption is...
13.1K
Stereotype Threat and Self-fulfilling Prophecies02:09

Stereotype Threat and Self-fulfilling Prophecies

38.4K
When we hold a stereotype about a person, we have expectations that he or she will fulfill that stereotype. A self-fulfilling prophecy is an expectation held by a person that alters his or her behavior in a way that tends to make it true. When we hold stereotypes about a person, we tend to treat the person according to our expectations. This treatment can influence the person to act according to our stereotypic expectations, thus confirming our stereotypic beliefs. Research by Rosenthal and...
38.4K
Self-Discrepancy Theory02:45

Self-Discrepancy Theory

18.4K
One influential perspective on what motivates people's behavior is detailed in Tory Higgin's self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987). He proposed that people hold disagreeing internal representations of themselves that lead to different emotional states.  
18.4K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Physical actions shape moral choices: Environment-directed movements reduce cheating in young children.

Journal of experimental psychology. General·2026
Same author

Overhearing adults' side comments influences young children's question-asking.

Child development·2026
Same author

The Permission Paradox: Condoning Deception Can Promote Honesty in Young Children.

Developmental science·2026
Same author

Negative descriptive norms can influence young children's generosity even when positive descriptive norms do not.

Child development·2026
Same author

Strategic Cheating in Young Children.

Developmental science·2025
Same author

Overheard evaluative comments can affect young children's effort.

Journal of experimental psychology. General·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 2, 2025

The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies
08:24

The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies

Published on: August 25, 2023

792

Overheard evaluative comments: Implications for beliefs about effort and ability.

Li Zhao1, Yingying Li1, Wen Qin2

  • 1Department of Psychology, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, P.R. China.

Child Development
|August 8, 2022
PubMed
Summary

Overhearing praise for low effort in children can decrease their value of effort. This study shows young children may devalue academic effort after hearing such comments.

More Related Videos

Making Sense of Listening: The IMAP Test Battery
11:25

Making Sense of Listening: The IMAP Test Battery

Published on: October 11, 2010

15.9K
Highlighting and Reducing the Impact of Negative Aging Stereotypes During Older Adults' Cognitive Testing
06:58

Highlighting and Reducing the Impact of Negative Aging Stereotypes During Older Adults' Cognitive Testing

Published on: January 24, 2020

7.4K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Sep 2, 2025

The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies
08:24

The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies

Published on: August 25, 2023

792
Making Sense of Listening: The IMAP Test Battery
11:25

Making Sense of Listening: The IMAP Test Battery

Published on: October 11, 2010

15.9K
Highlighting and Reducing the Impact of Negative Aging Stereotypes During Older Adults' Cognitive Testing
06:58

Highlighting and Reducing the Impact of Negative Aging Stereotypes During Older Adults' Cognitive Testing

Published on: January 24, 2020

7.4K

Area of Science:

  • Child Psychology
  • Social Psychology
  • Developmental Psychology

Background:

  • Children's beliefs about effort and ability are shaped by social learning.
  • Pervasive social comparisons and overheard comments influence children's developing mindsets.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how overhearing low effort praise affects young children's valuation of academic effort.
  • To examine the impact of such praise on children's beliefs about ability and achievement goals.

Main Methods:

  • Three studies involving 270 five-year-old Han Chinese children.
  • Exposure to overheard adult praise for a child's low effort on an academic task compared to a neutral condition.
  • Assessment of children's devaluation of effort, endorsement of ability essentialism, and interest in effortless success.

Main Results:

  • Children who heard low effort praise devalued effort compared to a control group.
  • Low effort praise increased children's belief in ability essentialism (fixed ability).
  • Children exposed to low effort praise showed increased interest in being someone who succeeds without effort.

Conclusions:

  • Overhearing evaluative comments, even indirectly, significantly impacts young children's achievement beliefs.
  • Social learning of achievement values occurs early and is influenced by seemingly minor social interactions.
  • Interventions should consider the subtle social cues that shape children's motivation and beliefs about effort and ability.