Learning From Praise: Evidence from a Field Experiment with Teachers
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SeriesBrown Bag Seminars General Economics
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SpeakerMaria Cotofan (Erasmus University Rotterdam)
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FieldOrganizations and Markets
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LocationErasmus University, Theil Building, Room C2-6
Rotterdam -
Date and time
October 09, 2019
12:00 - 13:00
Abstract:
Non-monetary rewards
such as praise are used widespread to increase workplace performance. However,
the effects of praise on performance have so far been exclusively assessed in
settings where workers perform simple, repetitive tasks. Moreover, studies have
only shed light on effects in the short-run. In a field experiment with 900
teachers in 39 schools, I study how repeated public praise for the best
teachers impacts their performance over the course of a full year. Teachers in
the treatment group who are praised in the first round perform significantly
better in subsequent months, as compared to similar teachers in the control
group. Teachers who are not praised in the first round perform significantly
worse following the intervention. Results are best explained by a mechanism
where praise sends a message about relative performance. Updating their
beliefs, teachers become more motivated if they receive good news through
praise, and become discouraged when the news is bad. The positive effects of
praise are large and persistent, and reflect real learning gains. The negative
effects disappear over time.