Why Does Criticism Seem More Effective than Praise?

Tuesday April 5, 2011

When you coach someone or conduct a performance appraisal, where do you tend to focus? Probably on "opportunities for improvement," right? Sure, you mention some positive things, but we'll bet you spend much more time talking about faults and shortcomings. If you do, you're only human. Paying more attention to what's wrong isn't wrong-headed or perverse. In fact, you could say you do it because, in your experience, criticism produces better results than praise. Criticism... More »