Parents and teachers might think telling kids “they’re smart” is a helpful way to build self-confidence and support positive development.

But according to new research, these kinds of statements might shape how kids approach academic tasks in ways we did not intend or expect.

In some cases, it might even courage a child to cheat.

What adults say matters

When children experience success or failure, parents and teachers will often provide feedback about why the success or failure occurred. This can help kids make sense of the world, feel good about themselves or know how to improve for next time.

Researchers refer to these explanations as “attributions”.

According to longstanding research, the explanation we make for success or failure typically focus on one of four attributes:

ability (“you are so smart”)

ability (“you are so smart”)

effort (“you tried so hard”)

effort (“you tried so hard”)

luck (“you must have guessed correctly”) or

luck (“you must have guessed correctly”) or

task difficulty (“it was an easy test”).

task difficulty (“it was an easy test”).

Whether they are accurate or not, research tells us these attributions can have a significant impact.

They can shape how kids feel about the outcome of a test or task and how they might respond to challenges in the future.

This is particularly true when the attributions come from........

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