Praise, recognition, positive attention...we all crave
it. Even people who don't like to be in the spotlight want to know that
they and their contributions are appreciated—it is a basic human desire. Coaches
and teachers have long known that recognition plays a major role as young people
develop new skills. We also now
know that recognition plays a role as young people develop standards for their
own behaviors.
This link between recognition and behaviors, such as
abstaining from using drugs, is rooted in a phenomenon known as bonding or attachment. Simply put, it is all about
relationships. We are most
strongly influenced by the people that we are bonded to. That is to say that we are more likely
to adopt the belief systems and standards for behavior of the people to whom we
are emotionally attached.
Recognition comes into play because it is a powerful predictor of
bonding.
There is lots of evidence that if we provide our youth with
opportunities to learn new skills, and then provide them with recognition as
they master these skills, they will very likely feel attached to the people and
groups that make this happen. Most
adults can think of an example of this from their own lives. Perhaps a teacher, or a coach, or a
mentor somewhere along the line took the time to work with you and gave you
feedback on how to improve? And provided some praise as you got better? For
many of us, we developed a special relationship with those persons, and may
have been influenced in areas that went beyond the skills that were being
purposefully taught. Being aware
of this potential can provide insight into how a community can guide its youth.
As a community, we want our youth to make healthy choices
when it comes to alcohol, drugs, or risky sexual behavior. We don’t want them to engage in
delinquency or violence. We want them to be able to make these choices even
when we are not looking over their shoulders. For this to happen, they will need to have internalized
standards for healthy, rather than anti-social, behavior. Youth need to have their own internal
compass that guides them to make choices that are not harmful to themselves or
others. If we can maximize the
opportunities that the community’s youth have to learn from—and become bonded
to—positive adult role models, these youth are more likely to internalize
standards that will guide them to engage in positive and healthy behaviors.
There are three key ingredients that must come together for
our community to realize this.
First, there must be plenty of opportunities to learn new skills that
are well-suited to our younger citizens’ abilities and interests. Secondly, we must provide meaningful and
appropriate recognition of effort and achievement as part of these learning
experiences. Finally, we must be
sure to be explicit about the community’s standards for behavior once this bonding
occurs.
In our next blog we will delve a bit deeper into what
research can tell us about meaningful recognition, especially as it relates to
the learning of new skills. Not
all praise, it seems, is good or useful.
This is a great article! According to The New Scientific Case for Authoritative Communities, one of the issues plaguing our youth is the lack of connectedness-close connections to other people. Providing programs that are proven effective like STAR will not only benefit our youth, but the entire community.
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