She designed a study in which two groups of children were given a sheet of math questions to solve. When the task was completed, the first group was given evaluative praise. “Wow . . . that’s a really good score. You must be smart at this.” The message is clear: You are a bright child, talented at math. The second group was also told that they had done well. But they were not labeled or evaluated. Instead their process was described with appreciation. “Wow . . . that’s a really good score. You must have worked really hard.” A different kind of message: You stuck with it. You kept trying until
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