2. Details about the Survey
I surveyed 30+ people and asked them the following two questions –
1. Which compliment would give you more happiness for any work that you do?
a) You have worked so hard for this. Keep it up.
b) You are so intelligent. Good Work.
2. Do you think hard work when focused in the right direction can increase intelligence? Yes/No?
5. Survey Results
We see that majority of the people believe that they would be happier to receive
compliments on their hard work rather than intellect.
The same set of people also believe that hard work, when focused in the right
direction, has chances of increasing intellect.
6. Findings - Feedback should be focused on
Hard Work rather than Intellect
Praising someone for working hard is better than praising someone for their intelligence. It results
in the person putting in more hard work, and reflects in their future endeavors.
Most people think that Hard work, when focused in the right direction, can challenge a person and
increase their intellect. People tend to pick up problems they tend to learn from, even if they won't
look so smart rather than picking up pretty easy work, and they know they will do it well in there.
It also results in people taking up an activity more seriously and whenever required putting in
extra hours to understand it and finish it. They care more about improving themselves rather than
looking at how others have performed.
Such people will not misrepresent or inflate their achievements when compared to people who are
praised for their intelligence. They tend to work harder and develop their skills.
