"don't give compliments--it will give him/her/me
a "swelled head''?
is there anything positive in this approach and if not
why does this type of thinking persist?
2007-01-19 02:25:29 · 15 answers · asked by carolthec4 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Quotations
it means don't flatter them, it will make them arrogant and over confident. I don't agree with it. I could never have too much confidence.
2007-01-19 02:28:27 · answer #1 · answered by Atousa 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It depends on who they are talking about. Narrcisists love themselves and don't need anyone encouraging them with fluffy compliments, but on the otherhand a person who tirelessly works without thought for their own personal gain deserve to hear a compliment now and again. A "swelled head" is just another way of saying the person that got the compliment does not know how to accept the compliment gracefully.
2007-01-19 10:30:31 · answer #2 · answered by Fahkovan Gehtout 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some people take a compliment too seriously. Tell them they have done something well and they just assume they are the best in the world. Such people respond better to challenges than to compliments. To them, instead of saying, "Hey! Good job!" you would say, "Well, it seems you tried really hard, this time. But I'm sure you can do better."
2007-01-19 10:38:45 · answer #3 · answered by Anpadh 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I feel that this thinking only proves that the term "hater" goes back farther than we realize. I think if people gave more compliments then others would try harder and want to do good even more. Let's face it, this is a cruel world and society gets more and more jacked up by the minute. Things like this have a lot to do with it, I think.
2007-01-19 10:30:37 · answer #4 · answered by chocolategoldnc1 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
parents of the baby boomers used this expression, at least mine did. Child rearing skills were pre Dr. Spock, and children may be seen...not heard. They did not believe in excessive praise, because they thought it would lead to spoiled, females were particular subjected to this theory at home and in schools. Career choices were....airline hostess, hair stylest, and most important home maker. Sex education was a movie"oh yes, it's modess, or some similar crap. no one wNTED THEIR CHILD TO BREAK OUT OF THE PERCEIVED BOX. [sorry hit locked]
anyhow it was just another way to keep everyone in their place.
Of course this was not a positive approach, it was more a failure to succeed. I would hope no one does this, but cruelty in all forms still exist. Hope this sheds a little light on your question, it's one of those things that entire books could be written about.
2007-01-19 10:39:19 · answer #5 · answered by curious115 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It persists because the world has been thinking this way for so long that to change the way people think /speak/understand is by starting with the way you handle your self in thinking /doing/speaking around others. aqll the quotation means is ... if you give compliments long enough that a person can get to thinking that he /she is stuck-up/conseeded. you can give a compliment mind you but don't get carried away with. everything in time.
2007-01-19 10:34:09 · answer #6 · answered by Crunch 23 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As a member of the "older generation", I can say I have never expressed that point of view. At the same time, when compliments are given, they should be appropriate. Otherwise, they mean nothing.
2007-01-19 10:28:26 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I've heard it will give them a big head, like swell their ego to the point of needing to deflate it.
2007-01-19 10:34:47 · answer #8 · answered by latterdaylady 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It seems to persist in you.
I'm in my sixties and never said that once.
What generation are you in?
2007-01-19 10:30:26 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
because some people are so full of themselves it is horrible. Tell them one nice thing and they will think they rule everything.
2007-01-19 10:33:50 · answer #10 · answered by colera667 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋