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  3. Ah, praise. So powerful are simple words of approval and admiration that the late psychologist B. F. Skinner once called praise

Ah, praise. So powerful are simple words of approval and admiration that the late psychologist B. F. Skinner once called praise

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问题     Ah, praise. So powerful are simple words of approval and admiration that the late psychologist B. F. Skinner once called praise giving "the greatest tool in behavior modification".
    Yet precisely because praise is such heady stuff, motivation researchers warn of its psychological perils. Although the researchers agree that encouragement is essential for everyone, studies have found that poorly chosen words of praise can be as manipulative as any other reward—and just as destructive to creativity, perseverance and performance. Even behaviorists who advocate heavy use of praise for positive reinforcement in the classroom warn that its power can easily be missed.
    Such condemnation of simple good words is difficult even for those who can clearly see the destructive potential of gold stars and other glittery enticements. But in fact, Kohn argues, praise should not always be considered a synonym for human kindness. Children, he argues, can become Completely dependent on praise and in that emotional process lose any love of doing things for their own sake. Experiments show, for example, that children who are praised for being generous with others actually end up being less generous than those who received no strokes.
    Praise has also been shown to have very disruptive effects on confidence, concentration and performance. People who receive praise often become so self-conscious of their temporary good standing that they cannot focus on the task at hand, or alternatively they simply avoid challenging themselves in order to prevent the possibility of failure. Case Western Reserve University researcher Roy F. Baumeister found that compliments are an effective way to increase pressure, making a person more likely to "choke". Subjects who were praised just before a test of video skills consistently performed worse than did those who were not. And students who were heavily praised became more unconfirmed in their answers and gave up more quickly on ideas teachers disagreed with. "I worry about children whose eyes light up every time they are praised," says Kohn. "Many of them will grow to be adults desperate for others’ approval, unable to formulate their own standards."
    Although words of praise may be more subtle than other rewards, the basic psychological issue is one of power and manipulation. "Often, the most striking thing about a positive judgment is that it’s a judgment," says Kohn. "It implies, ’I have power over you.’" What’s more, he adds, praise carries with it the possibility of criticism, which can make the loftiest praise threatening: today’s "you’re perfect" can become tomorrow’s "you are worthless".
The last word "strokes" in the third paragraph most closely means
选项 A、instructions.
B、criticisms.
C、help.
D、compliments.
答案D
解析 第3段最后一句中than前后的内容表明该句对比的两个对象应该是“常受称赞的小孩”和“没有受到过称赞的小孩”，由此可见，句末的strokes应该与“称赞”同义，D就是“称赞”的意思，故选D。
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