The Effects of Praise for Effort versus Praise for Intelligence on Psychological Aspects of L2 Writing among English-Majoring University Students

Abstract This study examined the effect of different types of praise on writing students’ anxiety, motivation, mindsets, and perceived competence. In doing so, 180 English-majoring university students (102 female, 78, male) were randomly assigned to praise for effort, praise for intelligence, and no praise conditions (N = 60 for each group). The groups received praise types in two success and failure conditions and then answered to self-report scales on anxiety, motivation, growth mindsets, and perceived writing competence. The results of multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and post hoc comparisons indicated that praise for effort positively improved learners’ anxiety, motivations, competence and growth mindsets, while praise for intelligence negatively influenced them. The implications of the study for writing instructors and suggestions for future research in the field are presented.