People tend to give inflated praise ("you did incredibly well!") to those with low self-esteem more often than those with high self-esteem. This has the effect of decreasing a person's willingness to challenge themself in the future. The inflated praise actually harms the people with low self-esteem.

Researchers believe that the vocabulary for inflated praise sets high standards for the child (e.g. you must be the best or perfect).