I really liked this article Parenting: What Praise Helps and What Praise Harms?. I've never really thought about the possibility of praise being a negative but the study's interesting referred to there in Margaret's piece.

…telling children they’re smart…made them feel dumber and act dumber.”

An example of “It ain't what you say, it's the way that you say it” perhaps?

I quote from the article, 'Often, the kids who were told how smart or talented they were, or how much natural ability they had in a given area, such as sports or math, were the kids who never lived up to their potential. Those kids who were not given a “potential” to live up to were often the ones who did really well'.

 
Yes, I agree. My hubby's cousin is very smart. He even memorized the whole dictionary when he was young. His parents were proud of him and they visioned him to be a lawyer when he grows up. Now, neither is he a lawyer nor holding a high position. He is a bum!! He refused to find work. Just laze around, depending on his family and expects money to fall from the sky.