Podcast Summary
The Importance of Balancing Praise and Constructive Feedback: Balancing praise and constructive feedback is crucial for personal growth. Praise builds confidence and motivation, while constructive feedback identifies weaknesses and helps improve performance.
Both praise and constructive feedback play essential roles in personal growth and development. While continuous improvement through constructive feedback helps in identifying and addressing weaknesses, the unconditional praise provides a sense of security, love, and motivation. A study mentioned in the conversation showed that focusing on praising what has gone well, rather than setting goals for improvement, can lead to better performance and engagement. Therefore, it's essential to strike a balance between the two and understand that both have unique benefits.
Effectiveness of praise and criticism depends on factors: Tailor praise and criticism to individuals and situations, focusing on specific behaviors, and ensure correctability for maximum impact.
The effectiveness of praise and criticism depends on various factors, including the person receiving it, the realm in which it's being applied, and the stage of expertise. At the beginning of an endeavor, beginners require more praise to build confidence and stay motivated. Experts, on the other hand, benefit more from constructive criticism that highlights areas for improvement. It's essential to focus on specific behaviors rather than attacking the person, as the latter can be demotivating and ego-threatening. The usefulness of criticism also depends on its correctability – if the behavior can be changed, then it's more beneficial. Overall, both praise and criticism have their place, but they should be tailored to the individual and the situation.
Praising Intelligence vs. Effort: Focusing on intelligence instead of effort can make kids more fragile after failure, so it's better to praise the process and actions taken instead.
Praising children or people for their intelligence rather than their effort and process can have negative effects on their work ethic and resilience. According to research by Mueller and Dweck, kids who are praised for their intelligence may give up more easily after failure experiences, while those praised for their hard work are more resilient. Therefore, it's more helpful to focus on the process and the specific actions taken, rather than the person's inherent qualities. This not only applies to children but also to adults, including how we praise and give feedback to others. Despite knowing this, it can be tempting to slip into praising people as individuals, as it feels good in the moment, but it may set them up for fragility later. It's important to be mindful of this and make a conscious effort to focus on the process instead.
Familial influences shaping professional behaviors: Understanding familial influences can help us recognize patterns in our behaviors and motivations, and encourage self-awareness and growth through constructive feedback
Our upbringing and familial influences can significantly shape our perspectives and behaviors, even in professional settings. The speaker shared an experience of a miscommunication leading to a heated argument, which she believes was influenced by her childhood need for her father's praise. She also acknowledged the importance of constructive criticism in personal and professional growth. The speaker's reflections on her father's influence on her desire for achievement and praise highlight the intergenerational impact of familial dynamics. While self-awareness is crucial, it's essential to examine and challenge underlying habits and consider the roots of our motivations. In the context of feedback, both praise and critique have their merits, and it's essential to strike a balance between the two for optimal growth and improvement.
Focusing on the process instead of the outcome: During learning new skills or dealing with challenges, focusing on the process rather than the outcome can lead to improvement and better coping mechanisms. Process-focused feedback from teachers or coaches can be challenging to give and receive, but it's crucial for growth.
Focusing on the process rather than the outcome is crucial for improvement, especially during learning new skills or dealing with challenges. The speaker shared an experience of receiving valuable feedback from a golf coach, who emphasized the importance of technique adjustments and disregarding initial negative outcomes. This approach can be applied beyond sports and physical realm, as the speaker found it to be one of the best pieces of feedback ever received. However, giving process-focused feedback can be challenging for teachers or coaches, as it requires interpreting cues correctly and implementing suggested changes instead of relying on one's assumptions. Furthermore, the speaker discussed the economics of psychological trauma, as raised in a question from a listener who survived the Boston Marathon bombing. The listener highlighted the lack of recognition and response to mental health impacts of violence, which can add to the difficulty of dealing with trauma. While physical injuries and economic impacts are often counted and addressed, psychological wounds are not normalized as part of the response. This lack of acknowledgement can leave individuals feeling alone in their pain, making it even harder to cope with the trauma's aftermath.
Mental health costs of traumatic events: Mental health issues from traumatic events are often underestimated and undercompensated due to their intangible nature. Self-reported symptoms and psychological evaluations provide valuable insights, but a nuanced approach is needed to balance compensation and encouraging resilience and growth.
Mental health issues resulting from traumatic events, such as anxiety, depression, and PTSD, are often underestimated and undercompensated due to their intangible nature. The lack of objective diagnostic tools and the stigma surrounding mental health make it challenging for policymakers to account for these costs. However, self-reported symptoms and psychological evaluations can provide valuable insights into an individual's state of mind. The slippery slope argument, where people might define themselves by their suffering and encourage prolonged dependence, is a valid concern. Yet, research shows that some individuals experience post-traumatic growth, which includes the development of new resources, friendships, and insights. To effectively address mental health issues related to traumatic events, a nuanced approach is required, balancing the need for compensation with encouraging resilience and growth.
Measuring the Impact of Trauma: Trauma's effects are complex and unevenly distributed, with some reporting positive outcomes. However, the validity of metrics used to quantify trauma for policy-making is debated, and resources might be better spent addressing societal causes instead.
Experiencing trauma can have complex effects on individuals, with some people reporting that it helps them appreciate life more. However, the prevalence and impact of trauma is not evenly distributed, and those from disadvantaged backgrounds often face more stressors and adversity. Metrics like the Adversity Index and the ACE questionnaire aim to quantify these experiences, but their validity and usefulness for policy-making are still debated. Ultimately, the question is whether resources would be better spent on measuring and indexing trauma or on mitigating its root causes in society. While individual traumatic events can be unpredictable, many sources of trauma stem from societal circumstances, making them potential targets for intervention.
Understanding Trauma's Impact and Prevention: Investing in understanding trauma's impact and prevention is vital for individual and societal well-being, as chronic stressors can lead to long-term harm, but most people exposed to trauma show resilience
While it's crucial to understand and measure the aftermath of traumatic experiences, such as through the concept of allostatic load, it's equally important to focus on prevention. Chronic stressors, like poverty or social marginalization, can lead to long-term harm on various systems in the body. However, psychologist George Bonanno reminds us that the majority of people exposed to trauma display resilience and maintain stable functioning. Therefore, investing resources in both understanding the effects of trauma and preventing it is essential for individual and societal well-being.
Notice it, sit with it, put it in perspective: Acknowledge emotions, take time to understand them, and put things in perspective to build resilience during societal traumas
Developing resilience, especially during a societal trauma like COVID-19, involves noticing and accepting your emotions, sitting with discomfort instead of using unhealthy coping mechanisms, and putting things in perspective. Uncle Ken Duckworth, the medical director for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, summarized this as "noticing it, sitting with it, and putting it in perspective." This means acknowledging when you're feeling sad, anxious, or worried, taking time to understand these emotions, and refraining from immediate reactions that could lead to additional problems. Additionally, putting things in perspective can be achieved by taking a step back and considering the bigger picture, such as reflecting on the challenges faced in the past or imagining the vastness of the universe. These practices can help individuals navigate difficult times and build resilience.
Discussing grit, performance, and mental health diagnoses: Angela Duckworth discusses the importance of grit in performance and the challenges in diagnosing mental health conditions. Advancements in neuroimaging technology and potential use of AI may lead to more concrete diagnoses. Constructive feedback and positive reinforcement are more effective than the 'praise sandwich' approach.
The term "total 0" may not be a commonly used phrase for measuring performance, but it can still be a painful insult. Another key point from the discussion was the challenge in diagnosing mental illness due to the lack of physiological evidence. However, advancements in neuroimaging technology and potential future use of artificial intelligence and multimodality imaging may lead to more concrete diagnoses at the biological level. Additionally, the podcast mentioned the criticism of the "praise sandwich" approach, where positive feedback is sandwiched between negative comments. Instead, it was suggested that focusing on constructive feedback and positive reinforcement can be more effective and less insulting. The podcast was produced by Freakonomics Radio and Stitcher, and featured an interview with Angela Duckworth, a psychologist and MacArthur Fellow, discussing her research on grit and performance. The episode also touched on the challenges in understanding and measuring mental health conditions. It's important to note that while we strive for accuracy, this summary may not include every detail from the original discussion. For more information, listeners can visit freakonomics.com/nsq for links to the major references mentioned in the episode.
