Compliments vs. Critiques

Would you rather be in a group that only gives you positive verbal feedback (compliments) or only gives you negative verbal feedback (critiques)? Neither one is optimal, but let's get into the reasons why.

In a group that only tells people what they're doing wrong, there's no positive reinforcement. Each comment only adds to the pressure weighing down a player. All those comments bounce around in your head, making you worry about if you're doing something the "right" way, and half the time you'll be trying to figure out what critiques take priority over others. It'll take you a lot longer to find your own voice, let alone become a stronger artist.

However, with groups that are all about focusing on the good, a player can get a false sense of their abilities. There's less incentive to improve, because what needs to be worked on is glossed over and made to seem less important. Also, when you know you made mistakes, do you want someone to lie to your face and say, "you did great!"? Often with a group like this, there is great short-term joy but little long-term satisfaction.

Now, I realize that most groups don't fall into either extreme, but I also know that there are teachers and instructors of groups who do fall into one of the two camps. So imagine you have one or two senior members who teach like that, who then attract/retain people with similar temperaments. It may not reflect the whole group's mindset, but it easily becomes the dominant way that comments are given.

Admittely, I know there are people who seek out one extreme or the other. There's nothing wrong with that, but a majority of the players I've met aren't like that.

So which group would you rather be in? Ultimately a mixture of both is best, but where you like your balance depends on your taste. So maybe a better question to ask is, which side of the spectrum are you on?