Avoiding Praise Addiction: Descriptive vs Evaluative Feedback

BY NICOLE LAU

Childhood Internal Locus Building: Ages 0-12

"Good job!" seems harmless. But constant evaluative praise creates praise addiction - children who can't function without external validation, who constantly seek approval, who can't evaluate their own work. This is external locus. Descriptive feedback - noticing what they did without judging - builds internal evaluation and self-trust. "You used three colors" instead of "That's beautiful!" This teaches children to assess their own work, find intrinsic satisfaction, develop internal locus.

Why Evaluative Praise Creates External Locus

Creates Dependency: Children become addicted to "good job." They can't do anything without seeking approval. This is external locus.

Prevents Self-Evaluation: When you always evaluate, children never learn to evaluate themselves. They look to you to know if something is good.

Makes Worth Conditional: "Good job" implies judgment. Sometimes it's good, sometimes not. Worth becomes conditional on your evaluation.

Undermines Intrinsic Motivation: Children do things for praise, not for the joy of doing. External motivation replaces internal.

Evaluative vs Descriptive Feedback

Evaluative (Creates External Locus)

What It Is: Judgment-based feedback. You evaluate whether something is good/bad, right/wrong, beautiful/ugly.

Examples:

- "Good job!"

- "That's beautiful!"

- "Perfect!"

- "You're so smart!"

- "That's wrong"

Why It Harms: Child learns to look to you for evaluation. Can't assess own work. Needs constant approval. External locus.

Descriptive (Builds Internal Locus)

What It Is: Observation-based feedback. You notice and describe what they did, without judging.

Examples:

- "You used three different colors"

- "You stacked those blocks really high"

- "You figured out how to open that"

- "You worked on that for a long time"

- "You tried a different way"

Why It Helps: Child evaluates own work. Develops internal standards. Finds intrinsic satisfaction. Internal locus.

How to Give Descriptive Feedback

1. Notice Specifics

Instead of: "Good job!"

Say: "You put all the toys in the basket"

Instead of: "That's beautiful!"

Say: "You used red, blue, and yellow"

Why: Specific noticing helps child see what they did. They can evaluate it themselves.

2. Describe Process

Instead of: "You're so smart!"

Say: "You worked through that problem step by step"

Instead of: "Perfect!"

Say: "You were really focused while building that"

Why: Process description builds internal evaluation of effort and engagement.

3. Reflect Their Experience

Instead of: "That's amazing!"

Say: "You look proud of that!" or "You seem happy with how that turned out"

Why: Reflecting their experience helps them tune into their own feelings and evaluations.

4. Ask Questions

Instead of: "That's great!"

Ask: "How did you make that?" or "What was your favorite part?"

Why: Questions invite self-reflection and internal evaluation.

5. Share Your Genuine Response

Instead of: "Good job!"

Say: "I love spending time with you while you create" or "It's fun watching you build"

Why: Genuine sharing is connection, not evaluation. Doesn't create praise dependency.

Practical Examples by Situation

Art/Drawing:

❌ "That's beautiful!"

✅ "You used lots of different colors" or "You filled the whole page"

Building:

❌ "Good job!"

✅ "You stacked those blocks really carefully" or "That tower is taller than you!"

Helping:

❌ "You're such a good helper!"

✅ "You put all the books on the shelf" or "Thank you for helping"

Learning:

❌ "You're so smart!"

✅ "You figured that out!" or "You tried different ways until it worked"

Behavior:

❌ "Good boy/girl!"

✅ "You waited patiently" or "You used gentle hands"

When Evaluative Praise Slips Out

You will say "good job" sometimes. It's habit:

Don't Stress: Occasional "good job" won't create praise addiction. It's the constant pattern that matters.

Follow Up: If you say "good job," follow with descriptive: "Good job! You put all your shoes away."

Practice: The more you practice descriptive feedback, the more natural it becomes.

Progress: Aim for mostly descriptive, not perfectly descriptive.

What About Encouragement?

Descriptive feedback doesn't mean no encouragement:

Encourage Effort: "You're working hard on that!"

Encourage Persistence: "You're not giving up!"

Encourage Process: "You're trying different ways!"

This is descriptive encouragement - noticing their process, not evaluating their product.

The Bottom Line

Avoid praise addiction by using descriptive instead of evaluative feedback. Notice specifics, describe process, reflect their experience, ask questions, share genuine response. This builds internal evaluation and self-trust instead of dependency on external approval. "You used three colors" instead of "That's beautiful." "You worked hard on that" instead of "Good job." This is internal locus - children learn to assess their own work, find intrinsic satisfaction, develop internal standards.

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Next: Natural Consequences - Learning Without Shame

Childhood Internal Locus Building series: Practical guidance for raising children with inherent worth.

— Nicole Lau, 2026