Praise is the act of making positive statements about a person, object or idea, either in public or privately. Praise is typically, but not exclusively, earned relative to achievement and accomplishment. Praise is often contrasted with criticism, where the latter is held to mean exclusively negative statements made about something, although this is not technically correct (see also Blame).
Most people are responsive to praise and will demonstrate an increase in self-esteem or confidence if a suitable amount of praise is received. Some psychological theories hold that a person's life is largely made up of attempts to win praise for their actions.[citation needed] However, some people are less affected by or even averse to praise, for example people with autism[1] or schizoid personality disorder.[2]
Praise is a subjective term with one's own accomplishments.
In all forms of religion, praise of God is a key part of most public gatherings. A common form of mantra is to chant forms of praise of a divinity, for example in the services of the Hare Krishnas.
![[icon]](http://web.archive.org/web/20131120110548im_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg/40px-Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg.png){kind=small}
