Praise can be detrimental to students because if used too often, it can backfire. If praise is used to often, and is suddenly taken away, the students will stop doing whatever said task is. If used sparingly, they will complete the task not knowing whether or not they will be getting a reward.
Some problems with students who are obsessed with proving their intelligence to others is that they get to a point where they are so obsessed with their appearance to others, that they are not actually learning, but upholding their image. They are fearful of looking less than intelligent.
We need to use praise sparingly because we do not want students to think that we are under the impression that they are unintelligent.
I agree with overusing praise being harmful to students. I think that when students receive praise or rewards initially, they will expect this every time after doing something well. They also may stop doing these activities without getting the rewards that they depend on. Overpraising students can lead them to believe that they are much better at things than they really are, which could result in them not truly understanding the material.
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