A basic tenet of mindset development seems to be that praise should be reserved for truly effort-based accomplishments.
May I ask your source for this?
In the video
Teaching a Growth Mindset, one study is described as complimenting each child, according to the group s/he was assigned to:
1) Fixed mindset group: Compliment on score. You must be smart.
(Internalized message: Being smart is valued; Don't risk making mistakes. Natural talent is valued; Avoid "effort".) 2) Growth mindset group: Compliment on score, and on effort.
(Internalized message: Effort is valued; Can make mistakes and learn from them.) 3) Neutral control group: Compliment on score.
This did not seem to be based on the difficulty of the work relative to the child, or the amount of effort involved on the part of the child, rather it was about influencing a child's mindset in preparation for the next upcoming task(s) in the research study.
This raises a question in my mind, and this may be a question to ask of Dr. Dweck: whether the students in the studies were working in their ZPD, as praising effort is genuine in this context. By contrast, in real life often students are grouped by age and may be in classes where they are not exposed to new material.
ETA: Possibly I've found the answer to the question I asked at the top of this post, seeking a source for your statement regarding reserving praise for truly effort-based accomplishments:
So what should we say when children complete a task - say, math problems - quickly and perfectly? Should we deny them the praise they have earned? Yes. When this happens, I say, "Whoops. I guess that was too easy. I apologize for wasting your time. Let's do something you can really learn from!"
