The negative effects of praise and flattery

Abstract

An experiment examines the claims that players are (1) susceptible to flattery and praise from a video game, (2) that the effects are similar to flattery and praise from humans and (3) that flattery and praise can impair a player's performance. In two play-sessions participants (N = 42) were asked to play a casual video game. Half of the participants were only exposed to the original game sounds and the other half were exposed to additional praise and flattery from a computer voice (juiciness). The additional audio was designed to blend in with the game sounds. Participants in the control condition scored significantly higher than participants who received additional praise and flattery, but they did not evaluate the game differently. These findings suggest that flattery and praise from a video game produce the same general effects as flattery and praise from a human, and that too much juiciness can actual impair game play.