Young children use statistical evidence to infer the informativeness of praise

Receiving praise is not only rewarding but also informative for learners. It allows them to learn about their skills and competence even when they are uncertain or unable to judge for themselves. Not all praise is equally meaningful, however: praise from someone who praises indiscriminately is less informative than from someone who praises selectively. Do young children understand whose praise is more informative? Here we ask whether young children use covariation information to infer the informativeness of others’ praise. Adults (Exp. 1) and 4-5 year-olds (Exp. 2) were more likely to trust the praise from a selective teacher whose previous praise covaried with the quality of work than praise from a teacher who indiscriminately praised independent of its quality. Exp. 3 (4 year-olds) addressed the possibility that children simply prefer a teacher who praises less often. Even for young children, praise is more than something nice; they track the informativeness of others’ evaluative feedback and use it to learn about the quality of their own work.