Abstract:

A meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the relationship between praise and intrinsic motivation in children. Sixteen papers including 30 independent samples (N = 2339) met the criteria for inclusion in the meta-analysis. The result of the meta-analysis showed that there is a medium positive correlation between praise and intrinsic motivation, persistence and self-evaluation. Statistically significant heterogeneity was found between studies in the size of the correlation between praise and persistence and between praise and self-evaluation. Moderator analyses revealed that cultural background had a significant moderating effects on the relationship between praise and persistence; no significant moderating effects were found for age and proportion of boys. Western samples show a significantly higher relation between praise and persistence than eastern samples.

Key words: praise, intrinsic motivation, meta-analysis, moderator effect