Praise

Praise is the act of making positive statements about a person, object or idea, either in public or privately. 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. Most people are responsive to praise and will increase in self-esteem or confidence if a suitable amount of praise is received -- in fact some psychological theories hold that a person's life is comprised largely of attempts to win praise for their actions. Other people are less affected or even totally indifferent to praise, for example people with autism or schizoid personality disorder.

Praise is an integral part of many religions, for example Christianity or Islam, which hold that their god is a supreme being who is worthy of praise by his followers.