ABSTRACT
Are people more motivated by praise or criticism? In this chapter, we suggest there is no universal answer to this question. Rather, the motivating power of both praise and criticism depends on how people interpret these responses. Building on research on the dynamics of goal motivation, we suggest that praise is motivating when the praised action signals that the individual is committed, whereas criticism is motivating when the criticized action signals that the individual has made insufficient progress. We begin by reviewing the dynamics of motivation, we then explain how these dynamics apply to the motivational power of feedback, and we end by discussing implications.
